Real estate demand surge translating to strong sales: John Keells Properties

Nadeem Shums
PIC BY KITHSIRI DE MEL

Sri Lanka’s real estate sector is seeing an acceleration in demand, which is now successfully transforming into concrete sales and delivering strong returns for investors, according to John Keells Properties.
John Keells Properties Head of Sales and Marketing Nadeem Shums confirmed this trend, pointing to high sales velocity across the company’s diverse portfolio, which is segmented into Luxe, Metropolitan, Suburban and Leisure-linked spaces.
Speaking on the Luxe Spaces vertical, Shums noted that at the flagship City of Dreams Sri Lanka integrated resort, “just 20 percent of our inventory left to be sold” across the luxury residential apartments. He emphasised the unique value of this project stating, “developing a project of this scale... it’s not easy to replicate”, adding that the “replacement cost of an asset like this is going to be much higher”. This is compounded by the fact that there is “no new inventory in the luxury segment pipeline”, as noted in the group’s annual report.
The success is also prominent in the Metropolitan Spaces segment. Shums highlighted the TRI-ZEN development in Colombo, stating that the project has “sold almost 85 percent of that inventory to date”. He emphasised that this demand extends to strong post-purchase investment value, with a one-bedroom apartment at TRI-ZEN now commanding “more than US $ 1,000 a month” and a three-bedroom unit fetching “more than US $ 1,400 per month” in the rental market.
Confidence is also high in the company’s Suburban Spaces vertical, with its first foray, Viman in Ja-Ela, seeing significant traction. The project, which dedicates 60 percent of its six-acre property to open areas and gardens, has sold 94 percent of Phase 1, 83 percent of Phase 2 and 54 percent of Phase 3. Shums noted the company expects to “commence the sales of Phase 4 in the coming weeks”.
Shums also detailed the Leisure-linked developments vertical, highlighting “exclusive land plots and villas for sale” at the Victoria Golf Course in Kandy, a property ranked as “one of the 100 most beautiful golf courses globally”.
The remarks were made at an event announcing the John Keells property sector’s partnership for the upcoming FACETS Sri Lanka 2026 exhibition.
This strong sales momentum is clearly reflected in the financial performance of the John Keells group’s property sector. The group’s latest financial results for the second quarter of 2025/26 show the property sector reported an year-to-date earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs.345 million. This represents a 683 percent increase, compared to Rs.44 million reported for the same period in the previous year. The group’s investor presentation confirmed this remarkable growth was “driven by the profit recognition from sales at the TRI-ZEN and Viman residential development projects”. (NF)