Around 65 per cent of Indians are willing to buy a home in 2024 amid the narrowing of the gap between rents and equated monthly installments (EMIs), an annual report released by real estate property website NoBroker said.

The increase in affordability and security of owning a physical asset is also among the other contributing factors.

The report released is based on a survey of 32,000 Indians. It said the biggest factor in buying homes is the rise in rent. 41 per cent of the surveyed said that it now makes more sense to buy rather than to rent a property.

At 24 per cent, the rise in rent has been the steepest in Bengaluru followed by 18% in Chennai and 16 per cent in Hyderabad. In Delhi NCR, the rent has risen by 15 per cent and 14 per cent in Mumbai.

The second most important factor for people to choose to buy a home is affordability. 27 per cent of the surveyed Indians said that they want to buy a home simply because they can. Another 23 per cent said they want to get the security of owning a physical asset. 9 per cent said that they want to buy a home because they are getting married.

56 per cent of the surveyed landlords have increased the rents of their properties. The highest among these, 35 per cent, have raised the rent in the range of 10-20 per cent. 33 per cent have raised the rent by 20-30 per cent and 28 per cent by less than 10 per cent. The remaining 4 per cent have hiked the rent by 30% and above.

The report highlighted that real estate continues to be the most preferred option for investment in India. As compared to 71 per cent in 2022, 74 per cent of Indians at the end of 2023 believe that real estate is better than any other form of investment.

Homes are easier to rent out today and 86 per cent of landlords are looking to buy a second property as an avenue for investment.

Real estate has demonstrated a track record of consistent growth over the past few decades and, time and again, has proven to be the best investment option. It is a safe investment option that appreciates over time and ensures good returns while also enabling tax savings, the report said.

Recently, data from property consulting firm Anarock showed that in the year 2023, a nearly 250 per cent yearly surge in terms of the total sales value of ultra-luxury homes against the whole of 2022 has been witnessed in India.

Ultra-luxury homes which are priced over Rs 40 crore each, have had an unprecedented bull run in 2023, with both the number of sales and sales value of such assets hitting new peaks.

Mumbai alone sold 53 units priced over Rs 40 crore each, a 91 per cent share of the total deals across the top cities. At least four separate ultra-luxury home deals worth more than Rs 40 crore each were closed in Delhi-NCR with two apartments in Gurgaon and two bungalows in New Delhi. Hyderabad witnessed one residential deal over Rs 40 crore at Jubilee Hills, the data said.