Even for the top 5% of urban families by income in Maharashtra, buying a house in Mumbai would take more than 100 years of saving to fund. In Haryana and Odisha, it would take over 50 years of saving by the richest 5% to buy a house in their biggest cities. Chandigarh, by contrast, is the most affordable capital. These numbers have been arrived at by comparing the income of the top 5% households in a state/UT with average price of a 110sq m (1,184sq ft) house in its capital city – the middle of the three house size categories for which National Housing Board (NHB) compiles data. In 2022-23, India’s gross savings to GDP ratio was 30.2%, and the same ratio has been applied to calculate savings of the richest 5% households.

The income of the top 5% of urban families is derived from the average Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) of the top 5% of urban folks in a state. The rural MPCE is considerably lower.In Maharashtra, for instance, the urban MPCE for the top 5% is Rs 22,352 per person per month. For a family of four, the income would be Rs 89,408 per month or Rs 10.7 lakh per annum. Applying the 30.2% saving rate to Maharashtra’s top 5% families, their annual savings would be around Rs 3.2 lakh. NHB’s data on house prices shows that the per square foot price for a house with a carpet area between 645 sq feet and 1,184 sq feet was Rs 29,911 in March 2025. This means a 1,184 square feet house on average cost over Rs 3.5 crore in Mumbai. With a saving of Rs 3.2 lakh per annum, the top 5% urban families of Maharashtra would have to save for 109 years to afford this house.NHB’s average carpet area price is based on the registration data collected from sub-registrar offices (SROs) as well as the valuation data collected from primary lending institutions.A similar calculation shows that for the top 5% urban families in Haryana, it would take 63 years to afford a house of similar size in Gurgaon. In Bhubaneswar, it would take more than 50 years of savings for Odisha’s richest 5% urbanites to afford a house.Of the 21 state capitals for which carpet area price data was available from NHB, in 10 it would take more than 30 years of savings to buy a house. Chandigarh is the most affordable, as 15 years of savings will be enough to buy a 1,184 square feet house. Jaipur is the only other city where less than 20 years of savings would suffice.