Income as a Determinant of Housing Preferences and Budget Allocation: Evidence from Hyderabad's Residential Real Estate Market

DOI

https://www.doi.org/10.59256/ijrtmr.20260603028

Published In

Volume 6, Issue 3 (2026)

Published Online

May-June 2026

Pages

241-248

Article Type

Original Article

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Understanding the demographic determinants of homebuyer decision-making is a fundamental requirement for effective real estate marketing strategy. This paper examines the role of income — relative to age — as a predictor of housing preferences, budget allocation, brand sensitivity, and quality perception among homebuyers in Hyderabad, India's rapidly growing residential real estate market. Drawing on primary survey data collected from 165 respondents using a mixed questionnaire instrument and analysed through Chi-Square and Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric tests, the study identifies income as the dominant demographic variable across five of the seven hypothesised relationships tested, while age demonstrates no statistically significant influence on any of the housing decision variables examined. Specifically, income significantly determines housing situation (p = 0.004), home purchase budget (p = 0.000), budget allocation factors (p = 0.018), construction quality perception (p =0.027), and brand/developer preference (p = 0.048). Supplementary graphical analysis reveals that individual houses are the most preferred property type (74.7%), referrals constitute the primary search channel (79.5%), and western and southern Hyderabad zones are the most sought-after locations. The findings provide empirically grounded segmentation intelligence for real estate marketers and developers operating in comparable emerging urban markets, and contribute to the growing body of literature on income-driven consumer behaviour in South Asian housing markets.