Riya Upreti, founder of Fobet Media, says she bought two houses at 24 but worries her children may struggle to buy even one.
Her LinkedIn post has reopened a bigger debate around India’s wealth-building model, where property remains an important household asset even as housing prices rise faster in several major cities.
Her experience is personal, not evidence that future generations will be locked out of homeownership. But the housing data shows why younger Indians are increasingly questioning whether salaries alone can keep pace with property prices.
What Upreti Actually Said
Upreti’s argument goes beyond homeownership. In her LinkedIn post, she said that housing prices in India have been rising faster than inflation and that salaries have not kept pace in many sectors.
She used her own experience of purchasing two houses at 24 to contrast her financial position with what she believes could be a tougher environment for her children.
She also argued that relying only on a conventional 9-to-5 income may not be enough to build wealth, pointing towards entrepreneurship, investments and ownership of assets or businesses as alternative routes.
That part of the argument is a viewpoint rather than an economic conclusion. There is no reliable evidence establishing that today’s young Indians, or their future children, will be unable to buy homes.
What can be measured is the changing relationship between property prices, housing supply and household incomes.
Home Sales Stay At High Levels
India’s residential market did not collapse in 2025. Knight Frank recorded 3,48,207 homes sold across the country’s top eight residential markets, only 1% lower than in 2024. New launches stood at 3,62,148 units, down 3% YoY.
The headline sales number, however, hides a significant change in what buyers are purchasing.
Homes priced above ₹1 crore accounted for 50% of annual sales, with 1,75,091 units sold, a 14% increase from 2024. At the lower end, sales of homes priced below ₹50 lakh fell 17% to 73,694 units. Their share of total sales dropped to 21%, compared with nearly 63% in 2022. The ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore segment also declined 8%.
This is one of the clearest signs that India’s urban housing market has shifted towards higher-ticket homes.
Property Prices Keep Moving Up
Prices have continued to rise even though overall sales have largely stabilised.
Knight Frank reported that weighted average residential prices increased across all eight major markets in 2025. NCR recorded the sharpest increase at 19%, followed by Hyderabad at 13%, Bengaluru at 12% and Mumbai at 7%, according to the Hindustan times.
NHB’s RESIDEX provides a broader measure. Its latest available data for Q3 FY2025-26 showed the 50-city housing price index based on valuation prices rising 5.0% YoY, with 46 of the 50 cities recording annual increases.
The distinction matters. Knight Frank’s figures cover eight major residential markets and use its own market methodology, while NHB’s index covers 50 cities and is based on valuation prices collected from banks and housing finance companies. Neither should be treated as a single nationwide house-price figure.
Are Salaries Falling Behind?
There is evidence of sustained wage growth, which makes the affordability question more complicated than simply saying salaries are stagnant.
Aon’s latest India salary survey found that salaries actually increased 8.9% in 2025, with employers projecting a 9.1% increase in 2026. The survey covered more than 1,400 organisations across 45 industries.
Home affordability depends on several factors, including the price of the property, household income, down payment, loan tenure, interest rates and other living costs. A salaried household in a city where property prices have risen sharply can face a very different affordability equation from one in a lower-cost market.
Why Property Still Matters
The generational wealth question is particularly relevant in India because households hold a large share of their wealth outside financial assets.
UBS’ Global Wealth Report 2025 estimates that financial assets account for barely 25.8% of gross wealth in India. The remainder is largely represented by non-financial assets, which include property.
That makes rising property values a double-edged development. Existing homeowners can see the value of their assets rise, while first-time buyers must accumulate more money to purchase the same type of asset.
Upreti’s concern therefore captures a genuine economic tension. India’s housing market is still selling hundreds of thousands of homes each year, wages continue to rise and financing conditions can change. At the same time, the strongest sales growth is increasingly concentrated in higher-priced housing, while lower-ticket homes are losing share.
The bigger question for India’s next generation may not be whether homeownership disappears, but whether affordable homes, incomes and financing can expand quickly enough to keep ownership within reach of new buyers.
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