Published On:
October 29, 2025
Updated On:
October 29, 2025
Ready-to-move apartments look safe but deliver poor returns. Learn the real math behind 10% returns shrinking to 3%, and how YEIDA farmland near Noida Airport delivers 20–25% tax-free annualized gains under Master Plan 2031.
Ready-to-move apartments sound like the perfect investment — safe, visible, and easy to rent. You get possession immediately, there’s no construction delay, and you can either live in it or start earning rent from day one.
But here’s what no builder or property dealer will ever tell you: ready-to-move apartments give next to nothing in real returns.
Once you look beyond the glossy brochures and marketing language, the economics of apartment investing tell a very different story.
A ready-to-move flat — whether it’s in Noida, Gurgaon, or Mumbai — rarely delivers double-digit real returns once you factor in taxes, costs, and inflation.
Let’s take a simple example. Suppose someone bought a 3BHK flat in 2018 for ₹1 crore — roughly ₹4,500 per sq. ft. for a 2,200 sq. ft. property. In 2025, that same flat might now be selling at ₹11,000 per sq. ft., bringing the total value to around ₹2.44 crore.
At first glance, it looks impressive — more than doubling in 7 years, or roughly 13.4% annual growth. But that number is deceptive, because it’s before taxes and expenses. Once you start adjusting for everything, the real return falls sharply.
Let’s break it down. Out of that ₹1.44 crore profit, you’ll first pay 12.5% long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax, which comes to around ₹18 lakh. Then you’ll lose another 1.5% in brokerage during resale, or roughly ₹3.6 lakh.
Over seven years, you’ve also spent about ₹5–6 lakh on maintenance, ₹84,000 in property tax, and perhaps ₹3 lakh more on painting, plumbing, or small repairs.
That’s not all — your flat likely sat vacant for a few months between tenants every year, which means losing rent worth another ₹15–20 lakh over time.
Once you total all these costs, your real gain is closer to ₹96 lakh — not ₹1.44 crore. That brings your effective annual return down to about 10%. And after adjusting for inflation (6–7% per year), your real return is barely 3–4% — roughly the same as a fixed deposit, but with far more stress and effort.
Many people justify these low returns by saying, “At least I’m earning rent.” But when you do the math, even that doesn’t hold up.
A flat worth ₹1 crore typically earns around ₹25,000 per month in rent — that’s ₹3 lakh a year, or 3% gross rental yield. After maintenance and periodic vacancies, you’re left with around 2% net yield.
If you live in another city, things get even tougher. Every 11 months you need a new tenant, which means paying a month’s rent as brokerage. Add to that delayed payments, minor damages, repainting, and cleaning costs. By the time you’re done, the so-called “passive income” barely feels passive at all.
Most landlords quietly admit that after all deductions, they earn closer to 1–2% real yield. That’s less than what a basic savings account gives — and it’s definitely not the wealth-building story people imagine when buying their “investment flat.”
Because the system isn’t built to benefit the investor — it’s designed to benefit the builder and the broker.
Builders make their money upfront. During the construction and pre-launch phases, they enjoy price jumps of 30–50%. By the time the project is “ready to move,” most of that appreciation has already been priced in.
That’s why ready flats don’t move much — the growth curve has already flattened. For realtors too, the big commissions come from sales, not performance. Once you’ve bought, they’ve made their cut, and your returns are now your problem.
In short, developers make money before completion; investors make peace after possession — but rarely wealth.
Let’s be fair. Owning a home does have its emotional rewards. It gives you status, stability, and a sense of belonging. It’s comforting to have one space that’s yours — your address, your anchor, your security.
If you’re buying to live, this is priceless. But if you’re buying to invest, that same emotional satisfaction often disguises the poor financial performance of the asset.
Real estate as an investment should grow faster than inflation and outperform safer instruments. But ready apartments today rarely do that.
Now let’s talk about what’s working — and where investors are actually making money.
If your goal is 25%+ annualized returns, the real opportunity lies in structured land investments, especially in agricultural or YEIDA-zone farmland near Noida Airport.
Under the YEIDA Master Plan 2031, the authority acquires agricultural land in a planned, phased manner to build sectors, industrial zones, logistics hubs, and residential sectors.
Here’s how investors benefit:
This means your total return isn’t just from appreciation — it includes both cash compensation and plot allocation, which together often exceed 25% annualized return.
In the past four years, YEIDA’s compensation rates have increased by roughly 18% per year, as nearby development and infrastructure have surged — from expressways and metro links to the upcoming Noida International Airport and Film City.
And unlike rental flats, there’s no maintenance, no tenant management, and no tax burden.
A 3-bigha plot near Noida Airport, bought in 2018 for ₹45 lakh, was acquired in 2024.
The landowner received ₹1.25 crore in tax-free compensation and an additional sector plot worth ₹65 lakh.
Total value: ₹1.9 crore in six years — a 4.2× return, or about 27% annualized.
No stress, no upkeep, and no brokerage.
Just patient, structured, government-backed appreciation.
If you’re buying a ready-to-move apartment to live in — that’s fine. You’re buying comfort, community, and convenience.
But if you’re calling it an “investment,” the math simply doesn’t hold. Between taxes, maintenance, and inflation, your real returns hover around 3–4% per year.
By contrast, structured farmland or YEIDA-zone land offers 20–25%+ annualized returns, tax-free, and backed by planned development under Master Plan 2031.
Apartments look good on paper — but land builds wealth quietly.
