The ongoing West Asia conflict is expected to severely impact the supply of affordable housing in India, as rising input costs further erode already thin developer margins. Fluctuations in crude oil and gas prices, coupled with higher freight costs, are driving up prices of essential construction materials like cement and steel, making new projects increasingly unviable for developers.
While demand for sub Rs 50-lakh affordable housing prevails, market players cite increased land rates, escalated construction costs and low margins as key prohibiting factors.
'Unless banks focus on the Rs 10-15 lakh loan segment, growing affordable housing will remain a challenge.'
The US's recent 50 per cent tariff on Indian exports will have a trickledown effect on India's affordable housing, potentially derailing demand as well as supply in this segment, according to experts. Pointing to worker incomes and jobs in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that typically make up majority of the customer base of affordable housing, would take a hit in the near terms due to the tariff change, further crippling India's affordable housing sector, already reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
'Developers are into profit-making. And there's not too much money in the affordable segment.' 'So, they don't do affordable housing.'
Tathastu Realty is investing 500 crore to develop an affordable housing project in Rewari, Haryana, featuring 3,354 flats priced around 30 lakh each.
'Focus will be on smaller loan amounts to meet the needs of affordable homebuyers.'
Mortgage finance remains a structural growth opportunity in India with a policy focus on affordable housing, housing shortages, low mortgage penetration, and rising incomes as drivers. Affordable Housing Finance Companies (AHFCs) serve the mass market, low-income segments, which is the least-serviced category, and to operate in this segment, the mortgage provider needs good assessment skills. AHFCs and HFCs have also been increasing exposure in other mortgage segments (loan against property, developer loans among others).
BJP MLA Dhirendra Singh has urged the Uttar Pradesh government to formulate a comprehensive policy covering education, healthcare, housing and social security for labourers.
The new scheme may be announced before the Lok Sabha elections.
The real estate sector wants "high-impact" measures, like special schemes and tax breaks for developers, to revive the fortunes of the affordable housing segment in the country, multiple executives told Business Standard. This segment has been struggling since the Covid-19 outbreak, in contrast to larger and costlier homes which have been selling like hot cakes. The demand comes at a time when the government is taking suggestions from industry players before tabling the General Budget in the Parliament next month.
India is conducting a special audit of 101 cities to assess ease of living from the citizen's perspective, Comptroller and Auditor General K Sanjay Murthy said.
The affordable housing segment may be seeing an uptick which is a good sign of consumption momentum. This is the biggest-ticket purchase for middle income and lower income families. The current activity is at least partly driven by a pause in interest rate hikes.
Real estate developers are increasingly offering flexible payment plans, such as low booking amounts and deferred payments, to stimulate housing sales and manage affordability concerns without resorting to price cuts, as sales volumes declined by 14 per cent in 2025.
Realtors' apex body CREDAI described the RBI decision to cut repo rate by 50 basis points as a bold step and said this will help boost sales of residential properties.
Bandhan Bank is expecting that a little less than 50 per cent of its portfolio will be dominated by affordable housing loans in the next three to five years.
The new launches in the affordable category could just be another marketing gimmick to push sales and mop up money.
Given that some reputed builders are also present in this segment and the cheap rates, does affordable housing make a good investment option?
Budget has proposed an additional deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh for interest paid on loans borrowed up to end-March, 2020 for purchase of an affordable house, valued up to 45 lakh.
Affordable homes, priced under Rs 40 lakh per unit, may not be attractive anymore, not just for developers but also for investors, with the segment seeing a 26 per cent price rise over three years since 2022 versus 40 per cent returns from luxury homes priced Rs 1.5 crore and above.
Battered and bruised by the slowdown, real estate developers have done a mid-course strategy correction and begun to offer low-cost and affordable houses.
Realty players want single window clearance for all affordable projects, reports Karan Choudhury.
Tata Housing's efforts at helping less privileged sections of society are commendable, but after a point it won't be able to do much for the simple reason that there aren't going to be enough lenders to give loans to these prospective home buyers.
May is set to be a busy month for smartphone enthusiasts with Vivo, OnePlus, and Oppo all gearing up to launch new flagship devices, including the Vivo X300 Ultra with its advanced ZEISS camera, the OnePlus Nord CE6 featuring a powerful Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset, and the Oppo Find X9 Ultra boasting a stunning flexible AMOLED display.
The move is to align affordable housing finance flows to the increase in property costs and inflation, says Raghu Mohan.
After bidding adieu to his technology firm, this ex-Citibanker-turned-poet is now indulging in his latest passion of providing affordable housing for the masses.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories has received approval from Health Canada to sell a generic version of the diabetes drug semaglutide, making it the first company to get market authorisation for a generic semaglutide injection in Canada and the first in a G7 country.
Reeling under the credit crunch and slump in demand, realty firms and consultants expect the Budget to provide more incentives for affordable housing sector and encourage buyers by doubling exemption limit on interest paid on housing loans to Rs 3 lakh.
Affordability can be defined as the consumers ability to purchase, but it is a relative term. It may vary from individual to individual. It may also vary from location to location.
Through the newly created business vertical Happinest, MLDL will launch two such housing projects in Boisar near Mumbai and Avadi in Chennai.
The Maharashtra government on Monday made it mandatory for developers with layout of over 2000 sq mt to reserve 20 per cent of land for affordable housing.
Effects of the new schemes launched under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana would be felt more in tier-II and tier-III cities, as not many budget or affordable housing projects are in the works in metropolitan cities.
Congress MP K C Venugopal has submitted a privilege notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging breach of privilege during a recent address to the nation.
The demand for affordable housing is 535,400 units.
/We will stay away from corporate loans,' C S Ghosh, managing director and chief executive officer of Bandhan Bank, tells Namrata Acharya.
In the wake of boost from the Budget & RBI move on affordable housing, Tata Housing & Mahindra Lifespace, among others, plan new launches.
'India cannot speak of a demographic dividend if half its young women are unable to participate in paid work.'
Farmers too will get better deals
New Haven's' flagship project will be launched at Boisar in Mumbai and will offer 1,300 apartments, including 2 BHK and 3 BHK homes starting at Rs 12.73 lakh with a minimum size of 670 square feet, a statement said.
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Chairman Anand Mahindra spoke to Business Standard on affordable housing.
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