Home Within Reach
How mid-sized developers in India's Tier-II cities can build homes that lower-middle-income families can actually buy, and still make the numbers work.
The missing middle
During my internship with a Siliguri developer, almost every private project I benchmarked was aimed at upper-middle or premium buyers. Families earning a working wage were left choosing between informal housing and nothing.
Urban affordable housing shortage in India, August 2025. Knight Frank, 2025
Affordable housing's share of new supply, 2018 to 2025. Knight Frank, 2025
EMI as a share of income for an EWS household, 2020 to 2025. Knight Frank, 2025
Who is left out
| Group (PMAY-U 2.0) | Annual household income | Roughly per month |
|---|---|---|
| EWS | Up to ₹3 lakh | Up to ₹25,000 |
| LIG | ₹3–6 lakh | ₹25,000–50,000 |
| MIG | ₹6–9 lakh | ₹50,000–75,000 |
How this differs from my research paper
What drives prices
A comparative study of infrastructure, connectivity and housing prices across five Tier-II cities. It explains why prices move. Read it (IOSR-JEF, 2026) ↗
What developers can do about it
An applied framework for mid-sized developers, grounded in Siliguri. It asks what to build, at what price, and how buyers pay for it.
What I heard on the ground
All in and around Siliguri, during and after my 2025 internship with a local residential developer.
From developers and project managers (3)
- Land is the cost they control least, and it decides which buyers a project can serve.
- Approval delays add holding costs that end up in the price.
- Mid-sized developers rarely use PMAY's Affordable Housing in Partnership route: the paperwork, slow land approvals and price caps squeeze margins too far.
From families, tenants and wage earners (8–10)
- Most want the EMI under about 30% of monthly income.
- Location and transport matter more than amenities.
- They'll trade a clubhouse or pool for reliable water, power and security.
Conversations were informal and are summarised, not quoted. Names are not published.
Where the money goes
Land cost relative to construction cost, the single biggest lever on price. Knight Frank, 2025
Per sq ft for basic construction in Siliguri, excluding land and fees. Online construction-cost estimate for Siliguri, 2026
Per sq ft for standard-plus construction in India's top seven cities, up 34% since 2021. Anarock, 2026
PMAY-U 2.0, in practice
The government's urban housing scheme has four parts. Only some of them reach a private developer's buyers.
Interest Subsidy Scheme (ISS)
- Up to ₹1.8 lakh subsidy on a home loan for EWS, LIG and MIG families
- Loan up to ₹25 lakh, home value up to ₹35 lakh, carpet area up to 120 m²
- This lines up exactly with the ₹20–35 lakh gap above
Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP)
- Mixed projects need at least 25% EWS units and at least 100 EWS homes
- Developers I spoke to found the approvals and price caps hard to make viable
- Also: a Technology Innovation Grant of ₹1,000 per m² for new construction methods
The other two parts, Beneficiary Led Construction and Affordable Rental Housing, mostly serve families building on their own land or renting, not private developers' buyers. Floor-area (FAR) incentives come from state and city building rules, not PMAY itself.
The Home Within Reach Developer Framework
Three moves a mid-sized developer can make without waiting for a government partnership.
Design for usable space
Compact 1BHK and 2BHK plans that cut corridors, oversized balconies and dead space, lowering the built-up to carpet ratio so more of every rupee becomes living area.
Price to the ₹35 lakh line
Keep units under PMAY-U 2.0's ₹35 lakh ISS cap so buyers qualify for the interest subsidy, and use state FAR incentives and the Technology Innovation Grant where they apply.
Essentials over amenities, and flexible payment
Spend on water, power, security and transit access rather than a clubhouse, and offer payment plans that keep the EMI under about 30% of a family's income.
What can a family afford?
Enter a household's monthly income. The calculator keeps the EMI at the share of income you choose and works out the most expensive home they could buy.
An illustration, not financial advice. It ignores the ISS subsidy itself, registration and other costs.
What Siliguri actually lists
A scan of 30–50 current Siliguri apartment listings (price, carpet area, locality, configuration) from public property portals, to test my field observation that almost nothing sits between ₹20 and ₹35 lakh.
What's next
Finish the listings scan and turn the developer and buyer conversations into the final findings and graphics.
Present the framework to a Siliguri developer and add their feedback.
Full launch, and presentation to my counsellor.
References
- Knight Frank, India Affordable Housing, 2025. Report (PDF)
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, PMAY-U 2.0 FAQ. pmaymis.gov.in
- Anarock, construction cost and housing price analysis, Sept 2026, via Business Standard
- Bansal et al., "Reduction of Embodied Energy and Construction Cost of Affordable Houses through Efficient Architectural Design", Advances in Civil Engineering, 2021. Wiley
- House construction cost estimate for Siliguri, 2026. indialandconverter.in
- Author's field conversations and site visits, Siliguri, 2025–26.