Indian Housing Affordability Likely to Stabilise This Year as Household Income Growth Set to Outpace Property Price Appreciation

March 26, 2026:

The affordability of homes in India’s top cities is expected to be stabilised between 2026 to 2028 on the back of rising household incomes and favourable policy interventions, according to the CBRE Housing Affordability Index released by real estate consultancy CBRE South Asia Private Ltd.

The consultancy highlighted these findings in its India Residential Market Outlook 2026, evaluating the EMI-to-household income ratio across six major cities and three income brackets from 2021 to 2028. It signalled that for the first time since 2021, household income growth is now anticipated to outpace property price appreciation, easing the homebuying burden for a wide range of Indian households. This growth is likely to align with the country’s transition to upper-middle-income status by 2030[1] and policy momentum amid geopolitical uncertainties.

“India’s housing market is at a structural inflection point,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO, ICBRE Housing Affordability Index MEA, of CBRE. “The convergence of monetary easing, moderating price appreciation, and rising household disposable incomes is expected to cushion homebuying conditions across cities and income segments. The sector could witness a divergence in sales value-over-volume dynamics in 2026.”

The report tracked affordability across three annual household income brackets—INR 40 lakh, INR 75 lakh, and INR 1 crore—across Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune, mapping the EMI burden against evolving aspirations of homebuyers from 2021 to 2028.

It recorded a consistent upward movement in the EMI-to-income ratio across all three cohorts between 2021 and 2024. This can be attributed to the Reserve Bank of India’s interest rate-tightening cycle and to capital value growth outpacing household income gains.

However, the index signals a definitive pivot from 2026 onwards. Across all three income cohorts, the EMI-to-income ratio is projected to plateau between 2026 and 2028, pointing to a measurable stabilisation in homebuying affordability through the forecast period. This stabilising trajectory is reflected across distinct buyer segments and micro-markets.

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