After maintenance, taxes, vacancy and capital gains tax, rental yields struggle to beat 6%. The number you hear is not the number you keep.

A ₹1 crore Bengaluru apartment renting at ₹25K/month sounds like 3% rental yield. Subtract society maintenance, property tax, two months annual vacancy, capital gains on eventual sale, and reinvestment friction — the realised yield drops to 1.5-2%. An FD does better. Buy real estate to live in, with eyes open. Buy it as an investment only if you have specific market knowledge of an undervalued micro-market and the patience for a 7-10 year hold. For most Indians, the right answer is to rent and invest the down payment in equity. The math beats the cultural narrative by a wide margin.