Mumbai most expensive city in India, Ahmedabad most affordable to live in, says report

Mumbai has been named as the most expensive city to live in, according to the Knight Frank Affordability Index for 2023 that has been released recently. As per the index, Gujarat's Ahmedabad is the most affordable city in India to live in. 

Recently, there has been a lot of focus on the issue around affordable housing as the cities are struggling to find the balance between sustaining economic growth while ensuring the wellbeing of their inhabitants. As the demand for skilled workers rises and the workforce moves to the city, the prices of houses increase due to a surge in demand. This has led to major cities becoming borderline unaffordable. 

However, with schemes like 'Housing for All by 2022', the government's incentive to solve the housing crisis is playing a key role in increasing affordability by reducing residential unit prices. 

The affordability crisis, however, is not limited to India, rather being a global phenomenon. To help better understand this, Knight Frank has devised the Global Affordable Monitor to evaluate 32 cities globally on the basis of three parameters. In this monitor, Mumbai finds itself in the bracket of second-most affordable cities, while simultaneously being the most expensive city in the country. 

In Mumbai, the average housing prices stand at about seven times the average household income, making the financial burden of houseownership the heaviest in Mumbai across all major cities in India, according to the Knight Frank India Affordability Benchmark.

Meanwhile, cities like Ahmedabad, Pune and Kolkata have apartment prices thrice the average household income, standing out as examples of improved affordability.