India, Jan. 27 -- Buying a home in one's late 20s or early 30s has been seen as a key financial milestone. However, an increasing number of buyers are challenging this notion, opting to rent longer and enter homeownership around the age of 40, often with a stronger financial footing. Experts suggest that such buyers should aim to make a down payment of 40-50% of the property value, with 30% considered the absolute minimum to meaningfully reduce the loan burden. A lower down payment, they caution, can lead to higher EMIs at a stage when income stability may start to decline.

A discussion on Reddit highlighted how delayed homebuying is increasingly seen not as a regret but as a strategic choice shaped by income volatility, lifestyle prefer...