As interest rates, tariffs, and geopolitical uncertainty slow many domestic buyers, a distinct group of international investors is actively acquiring luxury properties in Manhattan, according to Mukul “Micky” Lalchandani, founder and principal broker of Undivided, a boutique NYC residential real estate advisory firm. These buyers operate with a clarity of purpose that contrasts with the hesitation seen among domestic purchasers at the same price point.
Pre-pandemic, buyers from China represented close to 75% of all-cash luxury transactions in New York. That figure has dropped sharply since 2020. High-net-worth buyers from India have emerged as one of the most active international groups. According to the National Association of Realtors, Indian buyers purchased approximately 4,700 US homes worth $2.2 billion between April 2024 and March 2025, ranking among the top five foreign buyer groups nationally. India recently overtook China as the largest source of international students at US Ivy League institutions, and the wealth profile of families making that educational investment mirrors what Lalchandani observes at the transaction level. Overall foreign demand has rebounded sharply, up 44% year-over-year after eight years of decline, and the composition of that demand has shifted in ways that are reshaping what developers build and how they sell it.
“They are focused on the long term,” Lalchandani says. “The political noise that is giving domestic buyers pause does not register the same way for someone who operates in a complex environment at home. They are buying with a 10 to 15-year lens.” That time horizon changes the evaluation framework. These buyers are not trying to time a rate cycle; they are asking what a building’s resale profile looks like in a decade, who the future buyer will be, and whether the neighborhood’s supply dynamics support long-term appreciation. Lalchandani applies this framework through the Undivided Value Index, a building-level scoring system that evaluates condominiums across eight weighted categories, including financial health, absorption dynamics, and resale liquidity.
The amenity packages that defined the previous cycle—large communal floors designed around shared spaces—are being replaced. New developments like 212 Fifth Avenue are conceived around private club concepts: residents-only access, whiskey bars, Zoom-ready private conference rooms, and outdoor terraces attached to individual units rather than shared with the building. The home office is now a baseline requirement, not a floor plan bonus. Buyers are also asking for private gym installations within the unit itself, separate from whatever the building offers. The preference is for consolidation: fewer shared walls, fewer shared spaces, and more control over the environment.
“Before, a buyer wanted a second bedroom for a child,” Lalchandani notes. “Now they want a separate home office. The footprint requirements have changed, and buildings that were designed for the previous buyer profile are having to reckon with that.”
The current cycle is concentrating downtown, a departure from the Billionaires Row era on 57th Street that defined the last one. Record transactions at 150 Charles Street, 140 Jane Street, and 80 Clarkson reflect a structural preference shift: buyers want walkability, proximity to restaurants, and real neighborhood infrastructure. Midtown around Central Park draws tourists but lacks the everyday density that buyers who plan to actually live in the city are looking for. Downtown delivers that.
For domestic buyers trying to make sense of a volatile market, the international cohort offers a useful reference point. The question these buyers are asking is not whether to buy but which building holds its value when it is time to leave and whether the data supports the decision. That discipline, regardless of where a buyer comes from, is what separates a well-advised acquisition from an expensive mistake.
