‘Dubai’s Indian Buyers Are Smiling Wider Than India’s’: CA Explains Why Indian Couples Are Investing Abroad | Real Estate News
New Delhi: More and more middle-class Indian couples are turning to Dubai to build their retirement wealth while many back home are stuck paying heavy EMIs for properties that offer little to no return. Bengaluru-based CA and startup founder Abhishek Jamuar summed it up bluntly on LinkedIn: “Sorry to say, but Dubai’s Indian buyers are smiling wider than India’s.”
His post highlights a growing gap between how property ownership works for Indians abroad compared to those investing back home. In Dubai, it’s not just the super-rich buying homes—many middle-class couples, who’ve saved steadily over the years, are now purchasing two to three properties. They’re earning rental returns of 6–7 per cent and borrowing at interest rates as low as 5 per cent. The result? Steady, income-generating assets that also serve as smart retirement plans.
“Not burdened by the EMIs,” Jamuar emphasised, highlighting how this approach gives buyers more financial freedom. In contrast, he pointed out how things are back in India where a middle-class couple usually manages to buy just one home, takes a loan at 10 per cent interest, and earns only about 3 per cent from rent. “One person’s entire income keeps going into EMIs,” he wrote. Instead of being a wealth-building asset, home ownership here often turns into a long-term burden.
To be clear, Jamuar isn’t saying Dubai’s real estate market is better than India’s. In fact, he acknowledges that property prices in India tend to grow faster. His main point is about the system itself—how Dubai’s model gives buyers more freedom, while India’s often brings financial stress. As he put it, “The burden that comes with buying a property in India, and the freedom that comes with buying a property in Dubai,” is the real difference. It’s not about which market is better—it’s about how each system works.
