This is an archive article published on November 13, 2024
Rents in Delhi and 6 other cities shot up by 70% in six years: survey
According to a study by ANAROCK group, 70% homebuyers in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai Metropolitan region prefer to buy apartments, while around one third homebuyers in Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad prefer residential plots.
Rents in seven cities across India, including Delhi, have risen by as much as 70 per cent over the past six years with the major jump occuring in the last two years, according to a recent research by property consultants ANAROCK group. The research covered 7,615 aged 24 to 78 respondents from across 14 cities.
The research highlights that 52 per cent homebuyers in Delhi-NCR prefer to buy 3BHKs and 38 per cent prefer 2BHKs. It also showed that real estate was the most preferred asset class investment for over 59 per cent people, followed by the stock market which was preferred by 31 per cent respondents.
Here are other findings from the report
• Southern home buyers prefer residential plots, while those in North India lean towards apartments: 70 per cent homebuyers in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai Metropolitan region (MMR) prefer to buy apartments, around one third homebuyers in Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad prefer buying residential plots.
• People prefer to buy property for use rather than investment: Two thirds of people surveyed purchased the property for end use, and just one thirds purchased it for investment.
• Gaining rental income is the biggest reason for investment: A majority (57%) of home buyers who buy for investment want to earn a rental income from their property and just 20 per cent want to sell it after appreciation.
• Expensive homes see a rise in demand: homes priced between Rs 90 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore gained traction in this time period – their preference grew by 10 per cent points – from 18 per cent pre-Covid to 28 per cent in 2024.
• Half of homebuyers dissatisfied: Over half (53%) of homebuyers were dissatisfied with the current options in affordable housing. The common reasons were – location accessibility, very small sizes and poor design and construction materials.
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• Bigger homes dominate buyer preferences: Over 51 per cent of the people surveyed preferred 3BHK units while 39 per cent preferred 2BHK units. The interest in 3BHKs increased in this period by 10 per cent and rising prices did not deter consumers from having these preferences.
• High home loan interest rates are a major deterrent in buying homes: Interest rates of over 9 per cent have a significant impact on the home-buying decisions of over 87 per cent buyers.
• Quality of construction and ventilation are major demands of homebuyers: Around 93 per cent of homebuyers said that construction quality is a top demand for them and 72 per cent said that well-ventilated homes were a top demand for them.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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