Delhi-NCR Real Estate: Gurugram’s luxury housing market has entered rarefied territory. Entrepreneur Manav Sardana, formerly associated with Imperial Auto, which was acquired by global private equity firm Warburg Pincus, has purchased a penthouse at DLF’s The Dahlias for Rs 271 crore, making it one of the most expensive single-unit residential transactions reported in India.
The 17,200 sq ft penthouse has a carpet area of about 10,500 sq ft, translating to roughly Rs 1.58 lakh per sq ft on super area and nearly Rs 2.6 lakh per sq ft on carpet area. Two people aware of the transaction said it is the country’s costliest reported purchase of a single residential unit by transaction value.
The distinction between transaction value and per-square-foot pricing is significant. Mumbai has traditionally dominated India’s ultra-luxury residential market, with homes in Worli, Malabar Hill and other prime neighbourhoods commanding more than Rs 2 lakh per sq ft. However, many of the city’s biggest-ticket deals have involved multiple apartments or amalgamated residences.
The Sardana purchase stands out because it combines a Rs 271-crore price tag with a single residential unit. At nearly Rs 2.6 lakh per sq ft on carpet area, it places Gurugram alongside — and potentially ahead of — some of Mumbai’s most expensive residential transactions on a like-for-like, single-unit basis.
Mumbai has recorded several landmark deals in recent years, including Leena Gandhi Tewari’s about Rs 639-crore acquisition of two sea-facing duplexes at Naman Xana in Worli and JP Taparia’s Rs 369-crore purchase of a 27,160 sq ft triplex at Malabar Hill. Several other transactions have also crossed the Rs 180-200 crore mark. Yet, the significance of the Dahlias transaction lies in the combination of its headline value and its per-square-foot pricing, a benchmark historically associated with Mumbai’s most exclusive addresses.
The transaction also marks another milestone in the evolution of DLF’s Golf Links enclave in Gurugram. Before The Dahlias, The Camellias had established the neighbourhood as one of India’s most sought-after residential addresses.
In December 2024, entrepreneur Rishi Parti purchased a 16,290 sq ft penthouse at The Camellias for Rs 190 crore, translating to roughly Rs 1.8 lakh per sq ft on carpet area. The development has since witnessed several marquee transactions, including the sale of an about 11,000 sq ft apartment for around Rs 114 crore, while multiple residences have crossed the Rs 100-crore mark.
Among the most prominent buyers is Ajit Jain, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and one of Warren Buffett’s closest associates, who purchased a 7,400 sq ft apartment at The Camellias for about Rs 85 crore. Jain, who has largely lived outside India, travelled to Delhi to complete the transaction, according to people familiar with the matter.
Sales momentum has accelerated further at The Dahlias. In October 2025, a Delhi-NCR-based industrialist acquired four apartments for nearly Rs 380 crore, spanning more than 35,000 sq ft, making it one of North India’s largest super-luxury residential transactions. Veteran investor Madhusudan Kela has also bought an apartment in the project for Rs 120.7 crore, reinforcing The Dahlias’ emergence as a Rs 100-crore-plus residential market.
The Dahlias comprises 420 residences across eight towers rising 29 levels, with a total development area of about 7.5 million sq ft. The project includes 15 duplex penthouses and a 3.5 lakh sq ft clubhouse. DLF has pegged the project’s gross development value at more than Rs 40,000 crore.
At the time of earlier transactions, DLF managing director and chief business officer Aakash Ohri said around 34 homes had been sold in the preceding quarter, taking the project to nearly 65% sold. Price realisation had crossed Rs 1 lakh per sq ft on super area, with higher-floor apartments fetching around Rs 1.2 lakh per sq ft.
Ohri has also said that 25-30% of demand now comes from buyers outside Delhi-NCR and overseas, including NRIs, highlighting the project’s increasingly national and global appeal.
The Sardana purchase represents the latest step in the rapid escalation of India’s super-luxury housing market — from Ajit Jain’s Rs 85-crore acquisition at The Camellias to multiple Rs 100-crore-plus deals, Rishi Parti’s Rs 190-crore penthouse, Madhusudan Kela’s Rs 120.7-crore purchase, the Rs 380-crore multi-apartment transaction at The Dahlias, and now a Rs 271-crore penthouse that sets a new benchmark for a single residential unit.