A viral Reddit post has sparked debate over why India’s real estate market may not see a revival — even if property prices fall sharply.
The post highlights the growing uncertainty in white-collar jobs, especially in the tech sector, and how job insecurity is making professionals wary of long-term financial commitments like home loans.
It argues that a fall in property prices alone won’t automatically bring back buyers, particularly in the tech community. The author points out that job insecurity and long-term financial commitments rarely go hand in hand. For instance, they note that while “home loan duration is minimum 10-15 years,” and “for 1 crore home loan, EMI is 1.3 Lakh which looks small and manageable,” that comfort disappears the moment someone loses their job — “arranging 1.3 Lakh becomes nightmare.”
According to the user, the slowdown in housing demand is closely tied to rapid automation and layoffs across the tech sector. With “AI advancing very fast and expansion stopped,” the number of experienced professionals is shrinking, and “no one can predict what will happen in next 10 years.” The post claims that “saturation is very big cause of layoffs,” adding that “4-5 Lakh professionals” are being let go every year.
The author believes this steady stream of job cuts has changed sentiment in the market. “Till last year, people were in hope one day it will revive,” they write, but now “the last leg of buying [is] happening because investors have no idea what is happening in tech and how deep the problem is.” They add that “90% of layoffs are never listed.”
The post also warns that the ripple effects could soon hit commercial spaces too, noting, “It will not only impact residential real estate but soon commercial real estate. For less people, places to lease will be less.”
The thread attracted users from various sectors sharing concern about white-collar jobs and real estate.
One user noted, “Layoffs are happening for all white-collar jobs due to AI, not just tech. AI is replacing data analysts, video editing, animators… and so many white-collar jobs. Heck, even the real estate cold calling for the past few weeks is an AI calling me. It’s gonna replace even brokers and sales.”
Another disagreed that AI causes layoffs, saying, “Layoffs are not due to AI. They are using it as bait. CXO bets on AI have gone wrong in almost all companies. They pumped too much money into it,” and added, “They don’t see the result. BoD will soon start asking questions. So the best way to show short-term profits is to reduce cost. But they can’t go back and against AI, so the only other option is to fire people.”
Concerns about corruption keeping real estate prices high were also shared. One user commented, “However I don’t think prices will fall. Babus and politicians will just buy more and black component will increase to keep the market afloat.” They added, “How do you think Babus and politicians make money? By illegal means like acquiring land illegally and selling to builders and real estate developers. Now that the demand is low, the cycle has broken. Corruption on govt projects is a small chunk of the black money, in the end the whole cycle was fueled by real estate demand either directly or indirectly.”
The original post ends with a warning, especially for salaried buyers with big loans: “Today, only rental is dropping, but tsunami knocking at the door — no one is seeing it. Job-less NRI returning is additional pressure on real estate instead of relief… I am not bothered what happen to realestate, I am only bothered about safeguarding retailers who take home loan to fulfill their dream of a permanent abode. How much they can go in red right now.”