- Homeownership in India’s top cities is increasingly unaffordable for working professionals
- Rising property prices outpace wage growth, pushing many to spend on luxury goods instead
- Some choose to spend freely on non-essential items due to hopelessness about buying homes
Buying a home in India is becoming harder for ordinary people. Property prices in top-tier cities have exploded in the last few years while average wages have increased at a much slower pace. With no hope of buying a place they can call home, working professionals are now opting to spend their income on luxury items which they would have otherwise parked in savings or invested in buying a property.
In a social media post, a user named Pranav detailed that ever since he realised it was 'impossible' for him to purchase a house on his current income, he decided to be rather free with his money.
"I don't know if there's a psychological term for this. But ever since I realised that, with my present income, it is practically impossible for me to comfortably buy a decent house in any metro city, I've started spending more, and spending money on things I probably shouldn't have spent on earlier," said Pranav, highlighting that he was freely spending on watches, gadgets, shoes and glasses.
Pranav said he knew a few others around him who were following the same pattern, which he described as a scary symptom of a 'hopeless economy'.
"When the system kills the big dreams, society starts seeking pleasure in small dreams. This pattern is showing up in many forms. A lot of couples are choosing DINK. They don't see a future for their kids in India, not socially, nor financially," he said.
"They would rather spend their money on travel, luxury purses and expensive phones. “If you can't actually be rich, at least feel rich during your lifetime.” I think that's the psychology behind this."
Pranav said this generation looks richer than the previous ones but is actually poorer and far less financially secure.
"If this continues, India will have an entire generation of rich-looking poor people who themselves aren't sure how they'll sustain themselves after retirement."
Check The Post Here:
I don't know if there's a psychological term for this.
— प्रणव (@PranavaBhardwaj) August 4, 2026
But ever since I realised that, with my present income, it is practically impossible for me to comfortably buy a decent house in any metro city, I've started spending more, and spending money on things I probably shouldn't…
'Quite Sad'
Social media users pointed out that it was the sad reality, with a growing number of professionals becoming disillusioned with the idea of buying a home.
"I think the present gen should just give up the dream of buying a home in a metro. It's better to buy that in tier-3 cities or in your village," said one user while another added: "More concerning situation is that many are doing this with credit money."
A third commented: "This is actually quite sad. Inflated real estate prices is the single biggest barrier to quality of life in our country today."
A fourth said: "Exactly true, the spending level has increased amongst all of us and thus savings have gotten low or sometimes zero. Inflation is the main reason, and also the aspirational demands created by the companies by numerous advertisements."
