IS RENTING STILL SMARTER IN 2026? A REAL CALCULATION FOR EVERY AGE GROUP

India's rental housing market is finally exhaling. After three straight quarters of sharp escalation, the JulySeptember 2025 Magicbricks Rental Index shows a market edging toward balance. Demand and supply are no longer racing ahead in lockstep panic. Instead, they are moving cautiously toward equilibrium. For tenants and first-time buyers alike, this pause matters. It changes the tone of the rent-versus-buy debate from urgency to calculation. At the national level, rental demand rose just 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter and 0.4 percent year-onyear, while supply grew 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter and nearly 6 percent annually. After a period when listings lagged badly behind tenant interest,the gap is narrowing. This suggests a system correcting itself after an overheated phase.

Rents Still Rising, But the Frenzy Is Fading
Even as demand cooled, rents continued their upward march. Average rents climbed 4.4 percent in the quarter and 18.1 percent over the year. The drivers remain unchanged: steady urban migration, hybrid work models keeping people anchored to cities,and strong absorption in mid-sized homes. What has changed is the speed. The earlier surge that pushed rents to record levels across metros is easing. In several cities, tenants are now resisting aggressive hikes, forcing landlords to recalibrate expectations.

Why NCR Is Still the Outlier
If the national picture suggests moderation, Delhi-NCR tells a different story. The region remains India's most aggressive rental market. Greater Noida saw a staggering 29.5 percent jump in demand, making it the fastest-growing rental micromarket in the country forthe second consecutive quarter. Delhi followed with 17.8 percent growth, and Noida with 10.8 percent. This momentum is being powered by new infrastructure corridors, improved connectivity and a steady supply of mid-sized homes that appeal to young families and professionals. For tenants here, rents are still climbing rapidly. For investors, NCR continues to offer strong rental yields.

Cooling Metros and the Return of Tenant Choice
Outside NCR, the picture softens considerably. Kolkata posted a healthy 5.4 percent rise in demand, reflecting stability in established residential pockets. But major cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Mumbai saw demand fall between 1.2 percent and 7.2 percent quarter-on-quarter. These are the same markets that experienced sharp rent inflation through 2024 and early 2025. The slowdown suggestsa natural stabilisation phase, where affordability concerns are finally influencing tenant behaviour.

Supply Picks Up, Pressure Eases
Supply trends underline this shift toward balance. Delhi recorded the sharpest rise in listings at 17.6 percent quarter-on-quarter, while Ahmedabad followed with a 6.5 percent increase. The addition of new inventory is easing pressure, giving tenants more optionsand slightly more negotiating power than they have had in recent years. Despite this, rents continued to rise in most cities. Thane saw the steepest increase at 12.5 percent quarter-onquarter, followed by Chennai at 6.7 percent. Mumbai and Delhi posted steady gains of around 5 percent, driven by demand in well-connected neighbourhoods.

A Housing Market That Allows Thoughtful Decisions
According to Colliers' 2025 report, housing sales across major Indian cities continued to remain steady, led by consistent demand, favourable interest rates, and rise in average income levels. Despite persistent concerns around raw material cost pressures, GST rationalization of key construction materials has been welcomed by residential developers. Infrastructure augmentation in Tier-I markets has further expanded residential catchment areas across suburban and peripheral localities, particularly which are in proximity to office hubs. Moreover, overall affordability levels have improved, given the steady rise in average income levels and 125 bps reduction in benchmark lending rates throughout 2025. With expected sales of 0.3 to 0.4 million units in 2025, buying is no longer risky by default.

For 25-year-olds, renting still wins. Flexibility, low upfront costs and career mobility outweigh the lure of early home ownership.