Property Prices Don’t Always Rise: Real Estate Advisor Warns Investors

"Property values always go up." This popular belief is something most of us have heard while growing up. It is surprising that this belief is just a myth; it has led people into debt and caused their money to be stuck in places for ages. Real estate advisor Rajdeep Chauhan, working at Knight Frank India, dismantled this belief in a recent LinkedIn post. Using historical examples to remind people that their decision to buy a property just because "it is bound to rise" should be thought twice. Real estate is not a one-way street to wealth.

In his post, Chauhan breaks down the factors that determine a property's growth based on his experience. "They go up when the GDP growth exceeds 6-7 per cent, the supply can not match the demand, and urbanisation is accelerating." His message is clear: a price rise is seen only when the fundamentals are aligned, not because people believe it to be so.

The real estate market may look bulletproof, but so many instances have happened in history that say otherwise and suggest that you make these decisions mindfully, not emotionally. To support his point, he drew from an incident that happened in Japan. Back in 1989, the real estate market was doing so well that the land under the Imperial Palace in Tokyo was worth more than all of California. Then came the crash. By 2001, the land values had fallen by 70 per cent. People who invested back then still haven't broken even.

His argument isn't pessimistic; it is realistic. He even stated the 2007-2009 US housing crisis, when property prices fell by 19 per cent and over 2.8 million housing properties were foreclosed in 2009. This affected the economy and the financial situation of homeowners gravely.

He goes on to acknowledge that, given the marks need to be met for buying a property are met, India's current fundamentals are strong. He states, "We're adding 100M+ people to urban spaces. The office supply demand ratio is 0.49. And the GDP has grown by 7.8 per cent in Q1 of 2025.

Yet, his warning is clear; it is directed at the misplaced overconfidence often seen while investing in property.

His remarks act as a timely caution for a section of India's growing middle class, which still continues to believe that real estate is the only safe path to wealth.