Bengaluru housing problem: 28-year-old asks if paying Rs 65K home EMI makes more sense than Rs 44K rent? Internet explains the math

Buying a home or continuing to rent? It is a question many young professionals in Bengaluru are asking as property prices and rents continue to climb. One 28-year-old software engineer earning around Rs 70 lakh a year recently turned to Reddit after finding himself caught between paying Rs 44,000 in monthly rent or committing to a home loan with an EMI of roughly Rs 65,000. His post quickly sparked a wider discussion, with many users sharing their own experiences of buying homes in the city.

In his Reddit post, the software engineer said he has built a sizeable investment portfolio over the years. According to him, he has around Rs 45 lakh in mutual funds, Rs 70 lakh in fixed deposits, Rs 15 lakh worth of physical gold, Rs 35 lakh in vested US company RSUs, Rs 15 lakh in PPF and another Rs 20 lakh in savings. He also said he has no loans or family responsibilities at the moment.

The Bengaluru resident currently lives alone in a 1.5 BHK apartment in a gated society close to major IT hubs and pays Rs 44,000 every month as rent. He estimated that the apartment would cost between Rs 1.1 crore and Rs 1.25 crore to purchase.


After calculating the finances, he wrote, "I ran some numbers and thought if i take a loan of 80 lacs with 40 as down-payment, monthly emi sits around 65k. Which isn't that higher than my rent and the loan amount itself isn't that huge and I should Ideally be paying it off in 4-5 years."

He added that he wanted the property for personal use and not as an investment. At the same time, he admitted that he believes "real estate is a bit bloated" and noted that "the job market is bad."

Netizens share why they chose to buy

Many Reddit users felt buying made sense, especially for those planning to stay in Bengaluru for several years.

One commenter shared a similar experience from 2023, saying, "I was paying 38k rent for a 2BHK in a gated society and the house cost was 1 crore including registration." The user added that rents in the same society have now climbed to around Rs 60,000 while "my EMI is a few thousand rupees less. Plus the apartment has appreciated nicely."

When the original poster asked whether prepaying the home loan would be a good idea, the same user replied, "Nah no plans to pre pay EMI. Home loan is the cheapest loan and currently ROI is just 7.15% for me. Over the next 17 years when this loan will go I'm fairly sure my investments will yield better returns."

Explaining the reasoning further, the commenter said, "Pre paying (or just not taking) loan only makes sense if ROI is above 10%."

Investment versus paying off debt

The discussion then shifted to whether spare money should go towards reducing the home loan or remain invested.

Responding to another user, the homeowner explained, "Reducing 100 rupees of principal is going to reduce your interest of 7.1% for 10 years, compounded. Invested 100 rupees for 10 years is going to give you 10-13% compounded over 10 years. Over long horizons investing will always win."

Another participant acknowledged the logic but admitted, "Although somewhere deep inside being debt free has a nice ring to it."

Not everyone was convinced that buying now is the best decision. One user cautioned that Bengaluru's real estate prices have nearly doubled in several parts of East Bengaluru over the last few years and said future returns may not be as strong. Others pointed out that those who purchased homes between 2019 and 2023 have already benefited from rising property values and higher rental demand.