by Deepak Sawant 
Mumbai’s housing market is famously expensive. A small 1-bedroom flat (1BHK in Mumbai ) can easily cost around ₹1 crore (10 million rupees)[1]. Yet some ads or officials label such homes “affordable”. This sounds strange when most people’s incomes are far lower. In fact, experts point out that by any official standard, a ₹1 crore flat in Mumbai is well above the affordable range.
What “Affordable Housing” Really Means
By government definition, affordable housing in big cities means much lower prices. For example, rules set in 2017 say a flat is “affordable” only if it is ≤60 sq.m (around 645 sq.ft) and priced below ₹45 lakh[2]. Even the RBI’s latest housing loan rules cap big-city “budget” homes at about ₹63 lakh[3]. In other words, homes up to ~₹50–63 lakh are considered budget/affordable. Calling a flat “affordable” at ₹1 crore – more than twice that official limit – doesn’t fit these definitions.
- Govt definition: ≤60 m², ≤₹45 lakh in metro cities[2].
- RBI guideline (2025): Maximum ₹63 lakh for big cities[3].
- Reality: A Mumbai 1BHK often costs ₹80 lakh–₹1.5 crore[1], far above these caps.
These numbers show a mismatch. Developers or sellers may call a ₹1 crore flat “affordable” (perhaps compared to ₹2–3 cr luxury homes), but most Mumbai families earn much less than what’s needed for such a loan.
How Little ₹1 Crore Buys in Mumbai
Another way to see it: in prime areas ₹1 crore barely buys any space. A Hindustan Times analysis (2024) found that in South Mumbai’s Malabar Hill, ₹1 crore gets only ~73 sq.ft[4] – about a bathroom’s size! In Bandra it’s ~124 sq.ft (a small bedroom)[4]. Even in relatively cheaper suburbs, ₹1 crore buys only ~~380–680 sq.ft (Borivali/Dharavi)[4].
By contrast, typical prices in Mumbai are sky-high. One report notes a Mumbai 1BHK is usually ₹80 lakh–₹1.5 crore depending on location[1]. A 2BHK in the suburbs averages about ₹2.5 crore[1]. In that context, a ₹1 crore flat is at the bottom of the market – hardly what most people think of as “cheap” housing.
Incomes vs. Home Prices
The core issue is income. What do most people earn, and what loan can they afford? Mumbai’s living costs are high: a typical middle-class couple spends about ₹30,000–60,000 per month on basic expenses[1]. Monthly salaries are often not much higher. In fact, one analysis finds Mumbai requires an EMI-to-income ratio of about 48% – the highest of any Indian city[5]. In simple terms, an average Mumbai household must devote nearly half its income to pay a home loan.
Another measure is the price-to-income (P/I) ratio. A MagicBricks study reports Mumbai’s median home costs 14.3 times the average annual income[6]. That means if a family earns ₹10 lakh a year, an “average” home is ~₹1.43 crore.
Putting it together: to afford a ₹1 crore loan at current rates (around 8.5% interest), the EMI is roughly ₹87,000 per month. To keep that to ~50% of income (a heavy but common upper limit), a household would need about ₹1.7 lakh monthly income[7]. Very few Mumbai households earn that much. For comparison, finance experts say a family with ₹3 lakh/month (both spouses ₹1.5L) taking a ₹2 cr loan faces an EMI of ₹1.75 lakh – over 58% of income[8]. Even cutting the loan to ₹1 cr scales this down, but it remains a huge fraction of a normal salary.
Hard Data on Affordability
All this adds up to stark facts. A recent study of Mumbai’s market found that only 5–6% of households can actually afford the housing available for sale[9]. In other words, 94–95% of Mumbai’s population are effectively priced out of the market. Another report by Knight Frank (via Business Standard) highlights that Mumbai now requires 48% of household income to finance an average home[5], compared to as low as 18–23% in more affordable cities like Ahmedabad or Kolkata[10].
These figures show why calling a ₹1 cr 1BHK “affordable” is misleading. By any reasonable affordability measure (income ratio, official price caps, or market data), ₹1 cr is well beyond reach for the vast majority of Mumbaikars. If most people earn far below the amount needed for that loan, then the tag “affordable” doesn’t match reality.
Conclusion
In Mumbai’s real estate reality, ₹1 crore buys a very small flat and requires high incomes to finance. Official norms themselves treat homes under ~₹50–63 lakh as “affordable”[2][3], so a ₹1 cr flat is far above that. Industry and academic reports underscore the crisis: only a tiny slice of residents can afford current prices[9].
In short, “affordable” has lost its meaning at these prices. For most Mumbai households, even a “small” 1BHK costing ₹1 crore is a luxury, not a bargain – which is why experts say Mumbai’s housing market is the country’s most unaffordable.
Sources: Recent news and studies on Mumbai housing prices and income (Hindustan Times, Business Standard, MagicBricks, etc.) provide the data above[4][2][1][3][7][5][9].
