E-Paper
Man with ₹1 crore CTC, ₹7 crore savings claims he still can't afford house in Gurgaon, sparks discussion
A man earning ₹1.2 crore annually has sparked a discussion after saying that Gurgaon homes remain unaffordable despite high income and savings.
A Reddit post by a 40-year-old corporate professional has gone viral after he said that, despite earning over ₹1 crore annually, he still finds himself priced out of the Gurgaon property market.
In the post titled “1 Crore CTC, Still Priced Out of Gurgaon?”, the 40-year-old wrote that he works at a public limited company at a senior level, earns a CTC of ₹1.2 crore per year, and is an IIM Bangalore MBA graduate. He added that he is the only earning member in a family of 3 - his wife, mother and himself - with no children and no major family responsibilities. He shared that he has a lifetime savings of “slightly over ₹7 crore” and a monthly income of around ₹6 lakh.
“Despite this, I'm not being able to wrap my head around buying a property in Gurgaon,” the user wrote.
(Also Read: Bengaluru founder vows to move out of India after paying ₹4 crore tax: ‘System is flawed’)
In the post, the anonymous user further explained that a builder floor in DLF Phase 2, close to his workplace, costs ₹5 crore or more for about 2,300 sq ft, while a 4BHK in MGF Vilas is upwards of ₹14 crore - a price beyond his capacity for both down payment and EMIs. Even older apartments, he said, are priced between ₹3.5 to 4.5 crore, with renovation, brokerage and registry bringing the outlay close to ₹5 crore.
“Even for a NEW 4 bhk which costs 5 crore, I have 2 options - spend close to almost all my networth (5 crore plus government charges brokerage etc means another 40 lakh gone) or take a loan, which means keep working for another 20 years,” the user wrote, adding that at his career stage, there is “no guarantee” of job stability for that duration.
The OP also raised concerns about construction quality, lack of amenities, air and water quality, and structural issues in many builder floors, saying that the trade-off felt unfair even at such prices.
“Even with a 3 crore down payment one is talking about 2-3 lakh of EMIS for years. Even after reaching the heights of corporate success, i cannot afford to buy in Gurgaon, then exactly who is able to do this?” the user asked, wondering if he was “looking at this incorrectly”.
(Also Read: Man claims ₹5 crore is not enough to retire in India, sparks debate: ‘Half-baked statement’)
Social media reactions
The post quickly caught the attention of social media users and triggered a discussion on real estate affordability and housing costs in major Indian cities.
“Why do you wanna buy a house in Gurgaon? With the current pollution levels, terrible urban infrastructure- why spend your hard earned money here. Tier 2 cities would be so much better,” one user commented.
“Been there bro. Not earning as much as you are, but I settled for a builder for in sec 51 thinking will move to a 4 BHK in a few years. The market just went out of reach in post Covid years. Simply not possible if you are an honest tax payer. End up loading 37% net tax, and then everything is too expensive,” commented another.
“Sadly that is how it is. People like you and me are salary rich, wealth poor. I have a similar ctc and I feel so outpriced by ggn,” wrote a third user.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
