Home Purchases Become Most Affordable in a Decade

Delhi-NCR is easily one of India’s most sought-after real estate destinations, with an extremely high demand for properties. One would expect properties in such a major location to usually be quite expensive. While it is true that homes in Gurgaon cost more than many other parts of India, the current price trends show a drop in property prices. Similar trends have shown up in other major cities as well. In fact, homes here have now become the cheapest in a decade, making it a good time to purchase a property.

Generally, it is best to maintain a home affordability index below 40%. In the NCR, the home affordability index went from 53% to 28%, within a ten-year span from 2010 to 2021. Properties have, therefore, gone from being unaffordable to many to budget-friendly for most homebuyers. Mumbai, India’s costliest real estate market, had recorded an affordability index of 93% in 2010. By 2021, this improved greatly, falling to 53%. Similar improvements in the affordability index have also been witnessed in the other top cities, like Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, etc.

A number of factors have contributed to the improvement of home affordability in India. The real estate environment has changed significantly over the years, making it much easier to purchase a home. For instance, the home loan rates were record low near the end of the decade, allowing homebuyers to arrange for financing easily. The government offered various sops as well, including perks like slashed stamp duty charges during the pandemic. Together, all these factors helped make homes more affordable for the Indian masses.

A majority of the Indian buyers always preferred ready-to-move homes. While this trend still continues, leading developers are also succeeding in selling out under-construction properties in large numbers. Under-construction homes are cheaper and with a growing number of people starting to settle for these, it is easy to see how this has also helped improve the affordability index. The real estate market in the country is likely to keep going strong, with rising property sales.