PRESTIGE ESTATES ENTERS CHIKKAMAGALURU

Prestige Estates Projects Limited has added a fresh land parcel in Indavara, Chikkamagaluru as part of its land bank additions for the third quarter of FY26, marking the developer's formal entry into one of Karnataka's most talked-about non-metro corridors. The additions include parcels in Lakdaram and Rajendra Nagar in Hyderabad, Medavakkam in Chennai, and Indavara in Chikkamagaluru, cumulatively covering 85 acres during the quarter.

According to the company's investor presentation, Prestige Estates Projects Limited has added four land parcels during the third quarter of FY26, with an estimated revenue potential of ₹68,500 crore, according to its latest investor presentation for Q3 and nine months ended December 2025. Notably, the newly added land parcels are located across Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Chikkamagaluru, expanding Prestige Estates' presence in both established urban centres and emerging growth corridors. This is a deliberate shift for a developer historically concentrated in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai — the Chikkamagaluru entry signals confidence in demand well beyond the usual IT-corridor playbook.

The Indavara addition is part of a much larger land-banking push through the year. These acquisitions contribute to Prestige's total land additions of 351 acres in the first nine months of FY26, with an overall estimated revenue potential of ₹3.99 lakh crore. As a result, the company's land bank now spans 1,080 acres, with a Prestige economic share of 883 acres, providing development visibility across multiple cities. Management has indicated that the land parcels will be utilised for a mix of residential developments, aligned with its focus on mid-segment, premium and select luxury housing projects.

Why Chikkamagaluru, and why now? The hill town's real estate market runs on a very different engine than Bengaluru or Hyderabad. Forget IT corridors and metro-driven demand — this hill town in the Western Ghats runs on coffee, tourism, and a growing appetite among Bengaluru residents for second homes and farmstays. The city sits at roughly 3,400 feet above sea level in the foothills of the Mullayanagiri range, and that geography shapes everything about what people buy and why they buy it here. The district's coffee economy remains central to its identity: Chikkamagaluru is Karnataka's coffee capital, with around 85,465 hectares under coffee cultivation and approximately 15,000 growers in the district.

Connectivity is also improving in a way that directly benefits any new residential or plotted development in the region. The Kadur–Chikkamagaluru–Belur rail line, a project sanctioned back in 1997 that faced decades of delays due to challenging terrain and land acquisition issues, was finally operationalised in early 2026. The 56-km operational segment connects Chikkamagaluru to Kadur, which links to the Bengaluru–Hubli network. This upgrade is expected to widen the catchment of weekend and second-home buyers from Bengaluru, a trend that developers like Prestige are clearly positioning to capture ahead of the curve.

Market listings already reflect the shift in status for Prestige's Chikkamagaluru plans. Broker-tracked project databases list an Upcoming, by Prestige Group, Indavara, Chikkamagaluru, Price on Request, Villa / Plotted (Expected) project, consistent with the land-parcel addition disclosed in the Q3 FY26 filing. No RERA number, unit configuration, or pricing has been released yet — as is typical at this land-acquisition stage, before layout approvals and statutory clearances are finalised.

This pattern of disciplined, phased expansion is consistent with how Prestige has approached its broader FY26 land strategy. Prestige Estates has maintained a balanced approach to expansion, combining land acquisitions with timely project launches and disciplined capital deployment. The company noted that development timelines and project configurations will be finalised post statutory approvals and detailed planning. The Chikkamagaluru parcel fits squarely into that model — an early land bet on a corridor Prestige believes will mature over the coming years rather than an immediate launch-ready site.

For homebuyers and investors tracking Prestige's pipeline, the message from leadership has been consistent through FY26. Commenting on the year's overall performance, Irfan Razack, Chairman and Managing Director, said the company has closed FY26 on a strong note, with steady sales momentum through the last financial year and a good finish in the fourth quarter. "Demand across our key markets has remained encouraging, and our focus on quality, location, and timely execution continues to resonate well with customers," he said. Razack said the company has a robust pipeline of upcoming launches across geographies and hence optimistic about sustaining this momentum during the current fiscal. The Indavara land buy is an early marker of that pipeline extending into a genuinely new kind of market for the brand — one driven by lifestyle and tourism demand rather than employment corridors. Buyers interested in early-stage entry pricing should watch for RERA registration and formal project announcements as Prestige moves this parcel from acquisition to launch-ready status.