You don’t know when you will have to move out of the house,” says Nikhil Kamath in a video podcast called @NikhilKamathClips, “and not having the nuisance value of ‘having to move’ felt like it made sense that you should buy.” A seemingly innocuous statement, and common sentiment among the older generation, but one that bit Kamath back, metaphorically, as it contradicted his previously held convictions on the topic.

In April 2023, when a real estate market research reported 13 per cent rise in rentals in Mumbai in 2022-23, from 2021-22; and 57 per cent in Bengaluru, Kamath’s X reaction was: “Looks like a short-term phenomenon; as long as you can #rent at three per cent and #housing loan rates are over eight per cent, this won’t work. If I had to bet on house prices going down vs rent going up to reach equilibrium, my bet is still on the former.”