Why some millennials believe property investment is hot

livemint.com:

The best time to buy real estate was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today. —Warren Buffett International investment guru Buffett’s quote holds true not just for the baby boomers but millennials as well.

Bengaluru-based independent IT consultant Sharat Chandra’s (41) says real estate comprises 40% of his investment portfolio. “I do have some investment in gold and a couple of insurance policies but I prefer real estate for income generation. I have bought flats in Bengaluru and am checking out properties in Goa for rental income," he says.

Chandra has already earmarked a flat each for his two young daughters to meet their goals of higher education. He plans to mortgage those for an education loan, while continuing to earn rental income. He already gets ₹2.5 lakh as rent for the flat in North Bengaluru and ₹1 lakh for the one in his hometown Bhagalpur in Bihar.

Noida-based Prateek Pruthi (34), a treasury manager at HCL Tech, has invested in two under-construction properties in Gurugram to generate passive income. “I bought a 2bhk under-construction flat for ₹30 lakh directly from the builder in 2021. Ready-to -move flats of the same specification are already being sold at ₹50-55 lakh there.

I’ll get possession of my flat in 2024 but I have no plans to sell it. I’ll keep it for rental income," says Pruthi. Millennials are no different from boomers where real estate investments are concerned.

They want regular cash flows and returns that beat inflation. Yet, data by the Reserve Bank of India’s Housing Price Index shows that real estate underperforms other forms of investment in different time periods. Lending fintech firm BankBazaar did a comparative study that shows RBI Housing Index at pan-India level grew just