While ultra-luxury homes worth over ₹100 crore are selling fast in India’s major cities, many middle-class buyers struggle with skyrocketing prices, high loan interest rates, and strict mortgage conditions. Delays in approvals, unclear land titles, and limited affordable housing options further complicate the market.
A Reddit user recently sparked debate by calling for government intervention to regulate NRI property purchases, arguing that they push resident Indians into lifelong renting.
Referring to this trend as a “rent drain,” the post read: “NRIs are making housing unaffordable in India. The govt seriously needs to look into it and do something about it. The NRIs are gobbling up every new apartment project and resident Indians are forced to become forever tenants. This is draining India doubly. First brain drain. Then rent drain.”
The post resonated with many, with several users calling for higher taxes and stamp duties on NRI property purchases.
“So the real estate lobby is too strong in India and work closely with the ministers. So this will never happen. All govt has to do to solve this mess is levy extra TDS if you have more than 3 residential properties and an extra 10% stamp duty if you’re NRI. But this won’t happen. Govt would rather spend time on Latent,” one user commented.
Another user suggested an increased tax on second-home purchases, stating, “Black money in land, bribery, and these Dollar boys — please stay away from Indian real estate. Government needs to increase tax on second house/property to 25%. These rates cannot go on. Indians living in India, earning in Rupees, can’t afford a house.”
The discussion also highlighted how NRIs investing in property is a global issue.
“There are more and more houses bought by Indians (NRI) than whites in western countries — UK, Ireland, to name a few. These NRIs are a pain in their asses too 🤣 Literally causing a housing crisis and people going homeless,” another user wrote.
However, some argued that NRIs are not solely responsible for rising property prices, pointing instead to corruption and black money.
“Nope. It’s a red herring! Seems true, but not completely honest. Tons of folks in India itself are driving prices sky high — politicians, builders, business owners, showbiz. NRIs are just an easy scapegoat. Removing them would hardly make a dent in actual housing prices. And moreover, they trade in white! More revenue to govt, safe trustworthy money. Only by tackling black money in real estate will prices go down,” countered a user.
Another highlighted the impact of domestic buyers, particularly well-paid software professionals.
“Most of the apartments in my city are being bought by software engineers with 10+ years of experience. They get really good pay, and the post-COVID boom got them rich. All that money, as well as loans, went into real estate.”
