Budget 2024: Govt to help middle-class tenants buy or build own homes; check details here

The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today brought a fresh breeze of hope to millions of middle income households who aspire to purchase their own homes but are forced to stay on rent. While repenting the interim budget today, the FM announced a new scheme which will help such families buy or build their own homes.

“Our government will launch a scheme to help deserving sections of the middle class “living in rented houses, or slums, or shawls and unauthorised colonies” to buy or build their own houses,” Sitharaman said on the floor of the Parliament. While the details of the scheme are awaited and she has not shared further information on the nitty-gritty, real estate developers and industry experts are pinning their hopes on the prospective boost the scheme could bring in.

“We particularly welcome the initiative to launch the 'Housing for Middle-Class' scheme, which will enable more individuals to realise their homeownership dreams while stimulating construction sector growth. As an engineering consulting firm, we are excited about the opportunities these ambitious initiatives present and look forward to actively contributing to their realisation,” says Sandeep Gulati, MD, Egis, India, and South Asia.

According to Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Global, the initiative is expected to revitalise the mid-segment housing & affordable housing sector. “FM underscored the government's recognition of the significance of homeownership. This initiative is expected to revitalise the mid[-segment] housing & affordable housing sector.”

Boman Irani, President, CREDAI said, a housing scheme to help deserving sections of the middle class to buy or build their own houses “is encouraging and will aid in the growth of the housing market”.

According to Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, Housing.com, PropTiger.com & Makaan.com, industry estimates suggest that India's middle-class is set to nearly double to 61% of the total population by 2047, up from 31% in 2020-21. “The soon-to-be-launched housing scheme, aimed at supporting the middle-class in owning their homes, is poised to be a significant boost to the housing sector in a country where an increasing number of people are entering this income category each day,” he adds.

Nitesh Kumar MD & CEO Emami Realty says the goal of the program is to make it easier for such families to build or buy their own homes. “We also appreciate governments announcement to provide housing for middle-class to realise their dream of owning their own home and  eagerly look forward to the finer details towards this cause,” says Amit Modi, Director County Group.

Also Read: Interim Budget 2024: From 5.1% fiscal deficit target in FY25 to push for infra, key highlights of FM Sitharaman's speech