By buld_online 
Salaries haven’t kept pace with real estate prices—but homes are still being sold. So who’s buying in Gurugram? According to Amit Kaicker of Signature Global, it’s not just income that drives property purchases today—it’s existing wealth, family assets, and financial leverage.
In a podcast conversation with real estate advisor Vishal Bhargava, Kaicker unpacked a key shift in the homebuying landscape. Despite sharp price increases, especially in markets like Gurgaon, affordability has technically improved—thanks to a lower EMI-to-income ratio.
“In Mumbai, that ratio used to be 90% and is now around 50%. In NCR, it’s dropped from 55% to nearly 30%,” Kaicker said, citing market data. But he was quick to clarify: this doesn’t mean people are earning drastically more.
Instead, it reveals a different buyer profile. “In cities like Mumbai, most buyers are first-generation professionals—they start out renting, save, then buy. But in NCR, a large number of buyers already own property or have inherited assets,” he said.
These existing assets—either sold or used as financial leverage—lower the loan burden and reduce monthly EMIs. “Their EMIs are lower not because salaries have skyrocketed, but because they’re not starting from zero,” Kaicker explained.
So what kind of income do you need to buy property today? For a mid-segment home, Kaicker estimates a joint monthly income of ₹2.5 to ₹3 lakh for a couple. For premium housing, that number climbs to ₹5–6 lakh. Most buyers, he says, bring ₹50–75 lakh in savings for the down payment and take loans of ₹1–1.5 crore.
Affordability, Kaicker argues, is no longer just about how much you earn—it’s about what you already have.