- Saturday, Oct 17th, 2026
| TITLE | Affordable Housing vs Luxury Housing: Why Indias Urban Housing Crisis Persists Despite Record Construction Growth |
|---|---|
| ABSTRACT | There has been significant urbanization and urban housing growth in India, but housing affordability is a critical issue for lower and middle-income consumers. This study explores why the urban housing crisis continues to exist in India despite the surge in construction activity, while placing a spotlight on the disparity between affordable housing and luxury housing. A secondary research methodology has been applied in the study as the secondary sources were only from the academic literature using Google Scholar. Thematic analysis is used to analyse relevant studies on the themes of urbanisation, housing demand, housing affordability, land price, construction costs, housing-market segmentation, infrastructure and government housing policies. Research in the literature suggests that the housing supply does not always translate into adequate access to affordable housing for low-income households. Formal housing may be beyond reach due to high land costs, building expenses, and limited availability of housing finance coupled with income inequality. In addition, the focus can be shifted to more economically rewarding and therefore more attractive luxury and premium developments whereas lower price points may be limited in economic and spatial opportunities. Additionally, the research highlights the significance of housing placement, with prospects that affordable housing built outside the central city could have greater transportation expenses and lower access to jobs and services. The provision of affordable housing increased because of the government intervention, but it still has implementation and accessibility challenges. The study finds that India's housing problem is not only due to the quantity of houses being built but also to the mismatch between the supply of houses, their affordability and where they are being built and the effective demand of the households. |
| AUTHOR | Arrav Mehta Student, Hill Spring International School, Mumbai, India |
| VOLUME | 13 |
| DOI | DOI:10.15680/IJARETY.2026.1304012 |
| 12_Affordable Housing vs Luxury Housing Why Indias Urban Housing Crisis Persists.pdf | |
| KEYWORDS | |
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