India, Sept. 14 -- After nearly two decades of reporting on Gurugram, I find one concern unchanged despite the city's rapid growth, expanding roads, changing neighbourhoods, rising real estate prices and repeated promises: owning a home here is becoming increasingly difficult for the middle class.

Over the years, I have met hundreds of residents, homebuyers, salaried professionals and families searching for a place they can call their own. Gurugram attracts people from across the country with the promise of jobs, better salaries and professional growth. Many arrive hoping to secure their future and eventually buy an apartment. Until then, they rent, spending a sizeable part of their monthly income on housing.

Sooner or later, I hear the...