I’ve been house hunting in Kochi after living for a decade in a rented apartment. What I’m finding is disheartening. A decent home inside  Ernakulam town now comes at nothing less than ₹1 crore. That’s simply out of reach for an ordinary Ernakulamkaaran like me. I’m looking for a home to live in, not something to flip or add to an investment portfolio. 

I don’t need a swimming pool, a clubhouse or luxury amenities. I just want a decent home where my family can live. 

For decades, NRI money has flowed into Kerala’s real estate market. It has undoubtedly strengthened the state’s economy, but it has also pushed property prices beyond what local incomes can support. For many NRIs, a property is an investment, a second home or part of a portfolio. For someone like me, it is shelter. It is the place where my family will actually live. Yet both groups are competing in the same market.

The state’s own policies are making things worse. Kerala charges a flat 10% on every property transaction, 8% as stamp duty and 2% as registration. It is one of the highest transaction costs anywhere in the country. More importantly, it makes no distinction between a family buying its first and only home and someone buying another investment property.

That needs to change.

The answer is not to tax NRIs differently. That would almost certainly run into legal challenges. Instead, Kerala should tax based on how a property is used.

A self occupied primary residence should attract lower stamp duty and registration charges. Second homes, investment properties and speculative purchases should fall into a higher slab. The aim is not to punish any category of buyer. It is to reduce speculative demand while making home ownership more affordable for people who actually intend to live in the property.

Kerala should also introduce a vacancy tax. Homes that remain empty for years because owners are waiting for prices to rise should attract an additional levy. That targets the behaviour that drives prices up instead of targeting any particular group of buyers. Singapore and Canada have both adopted versions of this approach to cool overheated housing markets. I am not sure if this will work, but the government needs to do something.

But none of this works without increasing supply.

Kochi needs more affordable homes. Floor Space Index reforms, faster building plan approvals and simpler regulations would increase supply and bring down costs over time. Relaxing FSI also allows developers to build more efficiently, improving project viability while increasing the number of homes available.

This is not about discouraging NRI investment. NRI remittances remain one of the pillars of Kerala’s economy. It is about recognising that investment capital and genuine residential need should not be competing on exactly the same terms. It is also about acknowledging that our own tax regime is making it harder for ordinary working families to buy their first home.

For a first generation homebuyer like me, stamp duty and registration alone can add ₹4 lakh to ₹8 lakh or more to the cost of a home before construction even begins. That is not a tax on wealth. It is a wall built against ordinary families trying to own a home legitimately.

Meanwhile, hundreds of completed apartments sit vacant. Developers face no meaningful penalty for holding unsold inventory. Middle class families buying modest homes continue to pay transaction taxes that make no distinction between necessity and luxury.

Housing cannot become a privilege reserved for investors. and wealthy folks. It has to remain attainable for the people who live and work here. If Kerala is serious about retaining its young workforce and keeping its cities liveable, housing affordability deserves to be treated as a policy priority, not an afterthought.

My search for a home continues. As I continue my own search for a home, I can’t help wondering whether Ernakulam is slowly becoming a city where the people who live and work here can no longer afford to belong.