Rent vs EMI: The housing conundrum in 2025
Rents in big Indian cities like Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad have slowed their climb this year—growing just 7-9% in 2025 compared to the much steeper hikes between 2021 and 2024.
But if you're thinking about buying instead of renting, brace yourself: EMIs for a typical home are still almost double the monthly rent.
For many first-time buyers and middle-income families, that's making home ownership feel even further out of reach.
In Bengaluru, rent is half the EMI
Take Bengaluru as an example—a 2BHK on Sarjapur Road rents for about ₹38,000/month, but the EMI for buying it jumps to ₹75,000/month.
More people are putting off buying and looking at city outskirts or sticking with rentals.
Peripheral areas are seeing demand shift
Even with these hurdles, housing loans remain strong (₹76,923 crore as of June 2025), showing people still want homes.
But trends like hybrid work and better infrastructure mean demand is shifting toward peripheral areas.
Renting stays popular because it's more flexible—and right now, way easier on your wallet than jumping into a giant EMI.