A group of Reddit users scouting for apartments in Bengaluru has sparked a debate over the city’s relentlessly rising home prices, with many questioning what they describe as unjustifiable premiums in new housing launches. One post highlighted projects that appear to inflate prices through branding, including developments on the city’s outskirts adopting New York–inspired names to justify costs comparable to uptown Manhattan.
While many acknowledged that individual buyers may have their own reasons for accepting current price levels, buyers argued that projects are priced mainly on branding, marketing narratives, or speculative future infrastructure rather than on present-day livability.
Several users argued that the pricing trajectory appears disconnected from local constraints such as poor roads, chronic congestion, and uneven civic upgrades.
“I have seen a score of properties in the last few weeks, and while I feel some are overpriced, I feel some are ridiculously overpriced. I am listing only Cat A builders as I visited only them and not to offend anyone,” the post said. “Also, no offence to people who have already bought houses at these prices or more, because you know best how to use your money and you may have all the right reasons to buy a house at the said prices,” the user wrote.
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Some housing projects are priced like Manhattan
One Reddit user wrote that several launches were “overpriced, but a few are ridiculously overpriced,” before mentioning examples where rates reached as high as ₹27,000 per sq ft in Hebbal and around ₹14,000 per sq ft far beyond Electronic City.
Reddit users claimed that some Bengaluru projects priced homes based on marketing hype rather than real value, citing cases where ₹27,000 per sq ft was charged for “open area branding” and New York–inspired project names were used to justify uptown Manhattan–like prices in the outskirts. Others flagged ₹ 14,000-per-sq-ft quotes for features such as compact terrace gardens in flood-prone areas, while also questioning projects described as “closer to Tamil Nadu than Bengaluru.”
Why are prime areas seeing such high home prices?
Sunil Singh, director of Realty Corp, said gated villa communities in north Bengaluru’s premium micro-markets, particularly close to IT belts like Bellandur and Hebbal, have entered a pricing bracket that reflects both scarcity and concentrated demand from high-income professionals.
He noted that villas in these neighbourhoods now command between ₹40,000 and ₹45,000 per sq ft, while apartments developed by Grade A builders typically fall in the ₹20,000– ₹30,000 per sq ft range. “At these levels, a standard 3BHK easily crosses ₹3.5–4 crore,” he said, emphasising that the upward trajectory is being fuelled by limited supply rather than aggressive pricing alone.
According to Singh, the concentration of major tech parks, corporate headquarters, and R&D centres along the same corridor has created a unique demand profile dominated by senior executives, global CXOs, and top-tier managers seeking premium gated living close to their workplaces. This demographic is less price-sensitive and prioritises privacy, security, and amenities, which further strengthens the pricing power of established developers. Low new-launch activity from Grade A players has compounded the pressure, leaving only a small inventory pool available in a market where demand consistently outstrips supply.
Where can you buy affordable Grade A homes in Bengaluru?
The possibilities for more affordable Grade A homes, he said, lie predominantly in peripheral growth corridors. In the north, areas such as Devanahalli and locations beyond the airport zone still offer reputable developments at around ₹10,000 per sq ft. In the south, Kanakapura Road continues to draw interest for its relatively accessible pricing compared to central zones.
To the east, Hoskote remains even more competitively priced at ₹7,000–8,000 per sq ft, although Singh cautioned that such affordability comes with trade-offs. These micro-markets are considerably far from established IT clusters, which means longer commute times, slower social infrastructure development, and greater uncertainty about near-term appreciation.
He said that buyers must balance the initial pricing advantage against the realities of distance and the timeline for urban integration, especially in a market where job-location proximity remains a key determinant of long-term value.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)