Chennai Couple Earning Rs 1.5 Lakh a Month Struggle to Fulfill Homeownership Dream Amid Rising Property Costs

Chennai Couple Earning Rs 1.5 Lakh a Month Struggle to Fulfill Homeownership Dream Amid Rising Property Costs

Despite a combined monthly income of Rs 1.5 lakh, a successful physiotherapist couple in Chennai is finding it increasingly difficult to own a home, highlighting the challenges faced by middle-class professionals in India’s rapidly escalating real estate market.

Their story, shared by Chennai-based financial planner D Muthukrishnan in a viral post on social media platform X, has struck a chord with many. Muthukrishnan detailed the couple’s situation, underscoring the harsh realities of owning property in metro cities.

The couple, both physiotherapists, run a clinic in a posh area of Chennai. Charging Rs 500 for a 30-minute session, they manage a successful practice. The husband works full-time while the wife, balancing her work with raising two young children, works only for a few hours each day. Despite their financial discipline and steady earnings, they find homeownership remains out of reach.

According to Muthukrishnan, the clinic incurs high commercial costs, from electricity bills to property taxes, further straining their budget. "Being a clinic, everything from electricity charges to property tax has to be paid at commercial rates, which is quite high," he noted.

Even after covering their expenses and paying EMIs, the couple makes a combined income of Rs 1.5 lakh each month — with the husband earning Rs 1 lakh and the wife contributing Rs 50,000. Yet, even with this income, the dream of owning a home remains elusive due to the skyrocketing property prices in major Indian cities like Chennai.

The viral post has sparked widespread discussion about the increasing financial struggles of middle-class professionals in metro areas. Several users resonated with the story, expressing frustration over the growing gap between income and property affordability. One user commented, “It’s a tough reality in metro cities. The gap between cost of living and income is widening. No matter how hard you work, owning a home feels like an impossible dream for many.”

Another echoed the sentiment, pointing out how professionals who adhere to legitimate rates and taxes are finding it difficult to build generational wealth in the current economic climate. The story of the Chennai couple has become a reflection of a larger struggle shared by many urban professionals — rising incomes but even steeper challenges to achieving long-term financial security and homeownership.