New Delhi: Migration has emerged as one of the strongest drivers of India’s housing market, with new data from Magicbricks Research highlighting how mobility patterns are shaping both property prices and rental dynamics across metros. The findings reveal that migration is increasingly an aspirational choice linked to income growth, lifestyle preferences, and long-term ownership goals.
According to the study, professionals moving from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities to Tier-1 metros experience an average salary growth of 1.95x, significantly improving affordability for housing. This income growth is enabling households to transition faster from renting to ownership, particularly in mid-to-upper price segments across Tier-1 cities, as reflected in the city-level price appreciation trends.
The impact of migration is clearly visible across India’s major hubs. In Mumbai, property prices rose steadily to ₹30,796 per sq ft in 2025, supported by a 24% year-on-year rental increase. The city’s RPGD stands at 3.6, underlining the sharp rental inflation and the long-term benefits of ownership. Bengaluru registered the strongest rental growth of 36% YoY, with property prices appreciating nearly 30% YoY, pushing average rates to ₹13,000 per sq ft.
Further, in Delhi, prices are stable at ₹18,947 per sq ft, but rental yields are improving with RPGD above 2 in select micro-markets. Gurugram, meanwhile, has seen property prices increase 27.6% YoY against 16.1% rental growth, keeping its RPGD below 0.5, and making corridors like Dwarka Expressway and New Gurugram preferred destinations for buyers. Noida and Greater Noida also reflected post-pandemic spikes, with prices rising 95.6% and 88.1% respectively between 2021 and 2022 before stabilizing. In 2025, Greater Noida shows improving yields with RPGD around 2.3 and steady quarterly price growth of 3.1% QoQ.
The report also captured the growing momentum of reverse migration (urban to rural migration) with 10.2%. Professionals from Tier-1 metros are increasingly moving to Tier-2 cities such as Mysuru (2.97% of Bengaluru residents), Dehradun (1.77% of Delhi residents), and Goa (1.21% of Mumbai residents), driven by quality of life, affordability, and improved infrastructure. This has led to early demand cycles in rental housing and plotted developments in smaller cities.
