Affordable Housing: An Academic Perspective on Policy and Practice in India.

Abstract

This is a paper prepared by me for the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore-CRERI Real Estate Research Initiative. The paper is intended as a overview of the affordable housing sector with special emphasis on India. Affordable Housing is fast taking centre stage in the national agenda. In India, affordable housing is a term largely used in the urban context. Affordable housing refers to any housing that meets some form of affordability criterion, which could be income level of the family, size of the dwelling unit or affordability in terms of EMI size or ratio of house price to annual income.The demand drivers for affordable housing are several. Alongside the growth of the urban population, rising incomes have led to the expansion of the middle class. This has led to a spike in demand for housing that is affordable but includes basic amenities. The agencies working in the affordable housing sector can be classified into the public sector and the private sector. Both are dogged by issues such as scarcity of land, scarcity of marketable land parcels, titling issues, rising costs and regulatory concerns. The way forward calls for a collaborative multi-pronged multi-stakeholder approach.