Chennai, Ahmedabad and Calcutta are among the most affordable cities for investment in the housing segment, while the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Delhi emerged as the least affordable, according to Magicbricks.

In its latest report, 'Housing Affordability in Major Indian Cities', proptech firm Magicbricks said the property price to annual household income ratio (P/I Ratio) in India has increased from 6.6 in 2020 to 7.5 in 2024.

Based on the P/I Ratio, Magicbricks said that Chennai (5), Ahmedabad (5), and Kolkata (5) are among the most affordable cities for residential investments in 2024, while the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (14.3) and Delhi (10.1) emerged as the least affordable.

Magicbricks CEO Sudhir Pai said, "Between the latter half of 2021 and 2022, residential investments were at their most affordable. During this period, the market was experiencing a resurgence, characterised by low interest rates, recovering household incomes, and a modest increase in residential prices".

"However, homeownership sentiment has since peaked, resulting in demand significantly outpacing available supply, leading to a rapid and substantial surge in residential prices, presenting new challenges for affordable housing," he added.

Furthermore, the report revealed that the EMI-to-monthly income ratio in India has risen from 46 per cent in 2020 to 61 per cent in 2024, indicating a growing burden of EMIs on home buyers and reflecting affordability concerns nationwide, especially in metros, the statement said.

The trend is more pronounced in MMR (116 per cent), New Delhi (82 per cent), Gurugram (61 per cent) and Hyderabad (61 per cent).

In contrast, cities like Ahmedabad (41 per cent), Chennai (41 per cent) and Kolkata (47 per cent) are relatively more affordable.

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