Real estate: Should you pay rent when EMIs cost the same? Experts weigh in
Home loan EMI vs Rent: Experts increasingly stress that the rent versus buy question is more about individual "cash flow debate" considerations than purely about real estate ownership.
- Dec 5, 2025,
- Updated Dec 5, 2025 3:44 PM IST
Amid rising property prices and rent across Indian cities in different proportions, prospective property buyers are mostly in a bind on whether to buy a house via home loan or pay rent. However, the decision to rent a home versus pay an Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) for a home loan is a personal one that depends on an individual's financial stability, long-term goals, job mobility, and market conditions. Renting offers flexibility and lower upfront costs, while paying an EMI on a home loan helps build equity and provides long-term stability and asset creation.
Experts increasingly stress that the rent versus buy question is more about individual "cash flow debate" considerations than purely about real estate ownership. They argue that if the monthly EMI significantly exceeds rent, investing the surplus rather than purchasing property could yield comparable or even higher returns, depending on market circumstances. Both options carry unique advantages: renting may be seen as wasteful by some, but it can offer agility; meanwhile, buying a house with a loan can secure long-term wealth and peace of mind for those with steady finances and clear objectives.
Recently, finfluencer Akshat Shrivastava came out with a tweet in support of paying rent instead of buying a house.
In his post, he supports paying rent since according to him the middle class gets trapped into buying a house.
He posted his arguments against "The pitch is: since your RENT= EMI, what's the point of paying rent?"
"Here are numerous problems here:-
1) You get locked into paying an EMI for multiple years. This kills your flexibility.
2) You could lose your job/move to a different city/might have different requirements.
3) The house (if under-construction) can be delayed. This impacts your timelines.
4) Your house can become a depreciating asset. For eg. many flats in Dwarka, Rohini in Delhi have lost value.
5) Point 4 is very common. And, yet: b/c you have taken a loan, you are obligated to keep paying your EMI," he says in a tweet.
However, Saurav Sharma, Founder of RealVisory, a Delhi-NCR based real estate consultancy firm is in favour of buying a home instead of paying rent. He cites security, stability and social status behind homeownership in India. Even if one wants to pay rent, he should. But for stability and social security, he can buy a home in an upcoming area where he gets a new property with high chances of price appreciation.
"A 2 BHK in a Dwarka CGHS society that was Rs 10 lakh in 2000 is Rs 1.75 crore today (12.1% CAGR over 25 years). Rent has moved from Rs 1,800 per month to Rs 35,000 per month (12.6% CAGR). Look around India and you will see that most middle class wealth has been created simply by sitting on real estate, not by stock trading or SIPs. But it is also obvious that buying a ready-to-move flat in a 25 year-old ill maintained society in Dwarka today does not make sense. It is better to stay on rent in Dwarka and buy a new Mivan construction project on Dwarka Expressway.
Beyond financial returns, homeownership in India carries security, stability and social status. In covid times, treatment to tenants were different compared home-owners in socities. Rent is an unlimited liability, it rises every eleven months. EMI ends. Rent never does. People do take loan for 20 years but end up closing it within 10 years.
If you lose your job, you can restructure the EMI, rent out the flat or sell the property. If you are on rent and lose your job, how do you pay the rent? If you move cities, rent always gets hedged," said Sharma.
Hridhay Mehraa, Founder of The Prop Advisory, a Delhi-NCR and Dubai-based real estate consultancy firm offers a unique take in favour of home ownership. According to him, all cities are different in terms of real estate. Mehraa is of the view that rental yields rise in markets where infra is developing. If one intends to pay rent in such property market, the tenant faces risk of shifting flat on a frequent basis.
"Renting absolutely makes sense in mature, capped markets. Dubai is the perfect example. Yields are high but prices barely move in most Damac buildings in Business Bay because Dubai keeps adding new homes and better infrastructure every year. When a city always has fresh supply, older and replaceable buildings don’t appreciate much.
Rohini and Dwarka show the same pattern. Infra peaked, societies didn’t upgrade, prices stagnated.
But this logic breaks down the moment you enter emerging, infra-accelerating markets like Gurgaon/NCR. DLF has maintained and renovated its projects it sold 20 years ago, and those very assets appreciated nearly 3x in the recent cycle because relevance was preserved.
If you keep renting in such markets, you don’t buy flexibility. You buy displacement. Every 7-8 years, prices jump 3-4x in developing corridors. Salaries don’t keep pace. That’s why Japanese and Korean expats on GCR shifted to Extension, and Extension families shifted to New Gurgaon as rentals shot beyond budgets.
So yes, rent if your market has peaked. But if your market is still scaling and infra is yet to fully land, skipping ownership simply means getting priced out later. The real trap is assuming Dubai, Dwarka and Gurgaon move the same way."
Gaurav Sobti, Founder at Homegram said, "Buying a house isn’t just about “rent = EMI” — it’s about forced savings and building real wealth, not throwing money into a landlord’s pocket forever. Flexibility? Renting gives the illusion of flexibility, but you’re permanently poor — every rupee of rent is gone forever. A home loan is a disciplined 20-year savings plan with 8-9% leveraged returns. History shows Indian real estate (especially in good locations) beats inflation plus FD returns over long periods. Job loss or city change? You can rent out the house and become a landlord yourself. Thousands do it. Rent covers EMI or more, and you still own the asset. Renters have zero fallback."
"Under-construction delays happen, yes — that’s why you're rewarded even better or Right to Manage is often smarter choice for a enduser. But even recently many delayed projects eventually deliver, and prices jumped post-possession. Dwarka/Rohini flats losing value? Why you missed Gurgaon, Noida Hyderabad, Bengaluru, — most quality projects have 3-4 times in 15 years. Location and right brand matters," added Sobti.
Amid rising property prices and rent across Indian cities in different proportions, prospective property buyers are mostly in a bind on whether to buy a house via home loan or pay rent. However, the decision to rent a home versus pay an Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) for a home loan is a personal one that depends on an individual's financial stability, long-term goals, job mobility, and market conditions. Renting offers flexibility and lower upfront costs, while paying an EMI on a home loan helps build equity and provides long-term stability and asset creation.
Experts increasingly stress that the rent versus buy question is more about individual "cash flow debate" considerations than purely about real estate ownership. They argue that if the monthly EMI significantly exceeds rent, investing the surplus rather than purchasing property could yield comparable or even higher returns, depending on market circumstances. Both options carry unique advantages: renting may be seen as wasteful by some, but it can offer agility; meanwhile, buying a house with a loan can secure long-term wealth and peace of mind for those with steady finances and clear objectives.
Recently, finfluencer Akshat Shrivastava came out with a tweet in support of paying rent instead of buying a house.
In his post, he supports paying rent since according to him the middle class gets trapped into buying a house.
He posted his arguments against "The pitch is: since your RENT= EMI, what's the point of paying rent?"
"Here are numerous problems here:-
1) You get locked into paying an EMI for multiple years. This kills your flexibility.
2) You could lose your job/move to a different city/might have different requirements.
3) The house (if under-construction) can be delayed. This impacts your timelines.
4) Your house can become a depreciating asset. For eg. many flats in Dwarka, Rohini in Delhi have lost value.
5) Point 4 is very common. And, yet: b/c you have taken a loan, you are obligated to keep paying your EMI," he says in a tweet.
However, Saurav Sharma, Founder of RealVisory, a Delhi-NCR based real estate consultancy firm is in favour of buying a home instead of paying rent. He cites security, stability and social status behind homeownership in India. Even if one wants to pay rent, he should. But for stability and social security, he can buy a home in an upcoming area where he gets a new property with high chances of price appreciation.
"A 2 BHK in a Dwarka CGHS society that was Rs 10 lakh in 2000 is Rs 1.75 crore today (12.1% CAGR over 25 years). Rent has moved from Rs 1,800 per month to Rs 35,000 per month (12.6% CAGR). Look around India and you will see that most middle class wealth has been created simply by sitting on real estate, not by stock trading or SIPs. But it is also obvious that buying a ready-to-move flat in a 25 year-old ill maintained society in Dwarka today does not make sense. It is better to stay on rent in Dwarka and buy a new Mivan construction project on Dwarka Expressway.
Beyond financial returns, homeownership in India carries security, stability and social status. In covid times, treatment to tenants were different compared home-owners in socities. Rent is an unlimited liability, it rises every eleven months. EMI ends. Rent never does. People do take loan for 20 years but end up closing it within 10 years.
If you lose your job, you can restructure the EMI, rent out the flat or sell the property. If you are on rent and lose your job, how do you pay the rent? If you move cities, rent always gets hedged," said Sharma.
Hridhay Mehraa, Founder of The Prop Advisory, a Delhi-NCR and Dubai-based real estate consultancy firm offers a unique take in favour of home ownership. According to him, all cities are different in terms of real estate. Mehraa is of the view that rental yields rise in markets where infra is developing. If one intends to pay rent in such property market, the tenant faces risk of shifting flat on a frequent basis.
"Renting absolutely makes sense in mature, capped markets. Dubai is the perfect example. Yields are high but prices barely move in most Damac buildings in Business Bay because Dubai keeps adding new homes and better infrastructure every year. When a city always has fresh supply, older and replaceable buildings don’t appreciate much.
Rohini and Dwarka show the same pattern. Infra peaked, societies didn’t upgrade, prices stagnated.
But this logic breaks down the moment you enter emerging, infra-accelerating markets like Gurgaon/NCR. DLF has maintained and renovated its projects it sold 20 years ago, and those very assets appreciated nearly 3x in the recent cycle because relevance was preserved.
If you keep renting in such markets, you don’t buy flexibility. You buy displacement. Every 7-8 years, prices jump 3-4x in developing corridors. Salaries don’t keep pace. That’s why Japanese and Korean expats on GCR shifted to Extension, and Extension families shifted to New Gurgaon as rentals shot beyond budgets.
So yes, rent if your market has peaked. But if your market is still scaling and infra is yet to fully land, skipping ownership simply means getting priced out later. The real trap is assuming Dubai, Dwarka and Gurgaon move the same way."
Gaurav Sobti, Founder at Homegram said, "Buying a house isn’t just about “rent = EMI” — it’s about forced savings and building real wealth, not throwing money into a landlord’s pocket forever. Flexibility? Renting gives the illusion of flexibility, but you’re permanently poor — every rupee of rent is gone forever. A home loan is a disciplined 20-year savings plan with 8-9% leveraged returns. History shows Indian real estate (especially in good locations) beats inflation plus FD returns over long periods. Job loss or city change? You can rent out the house and become a landlord yourself. Thousands do it. Rent covers EMI or more, and you still own the asset. Renters have zero fallback."
"Under-construction delays happen, yes — that’s why you're rewarded even better or Right to Manage is often smarter choice for a enduser. But even recently many delayed projects eventually deliver, and prices jumped post-possession. Dwarka/Rohini flats losing value? Why you missed Gurgaon, Noida Hyderabad, Bengaluru, — most quality projects have 3-4 times in 15 years. Location and right brand matters," added Sobti.