Home ownership tops five-year goal for 31% of lower-middle-class Indians: Home Credit survey
Home Credit India’s 2026 survey signals a tilt toward long-term assets and planned purchases: 53% of respondents save after essentials, while 62% are comfortable using credit or EMIs for planned buying.
What happened
Home Credit India survey finds lower-middle-class consumers increasingly prioritising long-term assets, especially housing, over discretionary purchases.
Key facts
- 31% of lower-middle-class respondents prioritise home ownership over the next five years
- 25% prioritise starting or expanding a business
- Average monthly income: ₹35,000
- Average essential monthly expenses: ₹21,000
- 53% report saving after monthly expenses
- 58% of Gen Z respondents report saving
- 82% say affordable credit and digital tools are important
- 62% are more comfortable using credit or EMIs for planned purchases
Why this matters
Strategic targets and partnerships in India should prioritize embedded credit, EMI distribution, home-adjacent retail and value-led durable goods platforms serving aspiring lower-middle-income households.
What to watch
- Growth in housing-loan applications, affordable-housing sales, registrations and first-time buyer incentives.
- EMI penetration, approval rates, average financed ticket size and delinquency trends across consumer durable and electronics retail.
- RBI policy rates, bank/NBFC consumer-credit pricing and any tightening of unsecured-lending rules.
- Urban and tier-2/tier-3 wage growth, inflation in food and essentials, and consumer confidence readings.
- Relative growth in home durables, furnishings and building materials versus travel, apparel and other discretionary categories.
- Expand clearly priced EMI, no-cost EMI, down-payment and exchange offers for appliances, phones, furniture and home-improvement categories.
- Target lower-middle-income households with need-based bundles such as kitchen appliances, mattresses, entry furniture, basic electronics and installation/service packages.
- Align promotional calendars with housing milestones, festive buying and salary cycles rather than relying solely on impulse-led discount events.
- Strengthen credit underwriting, affordability checks and collections monitoring as financed-ticket mix rises.
- Use value messaging centered on durability, energy savings, warranties and total monthly outlay rather than premium aspiration alone.