Condo market on a tear in SL as buyers snap up units early

Vertical living in Sri Lanka’s urban and suburban cities is becoming increasingly popular, with condominium units being scooped up even before construction is completed, pushing the prices steadily higher.

The prices of new condominium units in the Colombo district rose sharply in the second quarter, extending the multi-year run-up that only saw a brief pullback during the height of the economic crisis in the second half of 2022.

According to the Condominium Market Survey for the second quarter conducted by the Central Bank, the price index for condominium units in Colombo climbed 12.8 percent year-on-year, taking the index value to 271.8.

The rising prices have not discouraged the buyers. The Condominium Property Sales Volume Index, which covers Colombo and other major cities, rose 44.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025 from the same period last year, though marking a decline from the first quarter.

From these sales, the highest transactions were unsurprisingly in the Colombo district, followed by other key districts in the Western province. 

“During the quarter, the highest proportion of condominium sales was recorded in the Colombo district, followed by the Gampaha and Kalutara districts,” the survey findings stated.

In Colombo, sales comprised 47 percent from single condominium projects and 3 percent from mixed development projects, making up 50 percent of total sales. Condominium sales in single projects in both the Gampaha and Kalutara districts accounted for 48 percent, while the balance 2 percent came from other regions including Galle, Kandy, Sigiriya, Nuwara Eliya and Nilaveli.

Meanwhile, most transactions took place in the Rs.25.0 million-50.0 million category, which accounted for 49 percent of total sales. This was followed by 19 percent of sales in the above Rs.75.0 million category and 17 percent in the Rs.0-25.0 million category. The above Rs.75.0 million category also showed an increase from the previous quarter. The remaining 15 percent of sales came from the units priced between Rs.50.0 million and Rs.75.0 million.

The data further showed that most units sold were in completed projects, while 54 percent of units have been reserved in the ongoing projects.