46% of NRI property owners want to sell now; 26% plan exits within 6 months

India’s housing boom may soon get a fresh supply of homes—not from developers, but from non-resident Indians (NRIs) looking to cash out.

Nearly 46% of NRI property owners surveyed are looking to sell their properties immediately, while another 26% plan to exit within six months, signalling a major shift in how overseas Indians manage their wealth. At the same time, more than half intend to transfer the sale proceeds abroad instead of reinvesting in Indian real estate, according to the Remittor Annual NRI Wealth Report 2026.

The report by the Vancouver based wealth tech startup Remittor suggests that properties purchased during India’s biggest NRI buying cycle between 2010 and 2019 are entering what it calls a “liquidity phase”, with owners increasingly viewing them as financial assets rather than emotional anchors. More than 60% of the properties entering the resale market were acquired during that decade, while 89% are residential homes, indicating that apartments bought during India’s urban expansion years are now being monetised.

From family home to financial asset

The report argues that the behaviour marks a structural shift in NRI wealth management.

For decades, buying a house in India served multiple purposes for overseas Indians—a retirement plan, a home for ageing parents and a fallback option if they returned.

That is changing.

“Properties acquired during India’s major NRI investment wave between 2010 and 2022 are now entering a liquidity phase, as owners evaluate them against mortgages abroad, retirement planning needs, education spends, portfolio diversification goals, and evolving tax obligations,” said Sanu Nair, Founder and CEO of Remittor.

Maharashtra leads the exit wave

Among properties entering the resale market, Maharashtra accounts for 26.8%, followed by Delhi-NCR (23.4%), Kerala (15%), Gujarat (12.9%) and Karnataka (8.2%). These regions had attracted significant overseas investment over the past decade because of strong infrastructure growth and expectations of long-term capital appreciation.

The report says many of these markets have already delivered substantial gains, prompting owners to book profits.

Apartments dominate

Residential housing overwhelmingly dominates the properties being listed.

According to the report:

88.8% of assets entering the sale pipeline are residential.

63.2% are apartments.

Commercial properties account for only 4.6%, while agricultural land represents 3.4%.

The report attributes apartments’ popularity to clearer documentation, RERA regulation and easier resale compared with standalone houses and land parcels.

Liquidity—not distress—is driving sales

The findings suggest most NRIs are not selling because India’s property market has weakened.

Instead, they are reallocating wealth.

Nearly 46.4% of respondents want to sell immediately, while another 26.2% expect to sell within six months. The report links this urgency to higher mortgage costs overseas, portfolio diversification and increasing cross-border tax compliance rather than distress selling.

Selling isn’t always easy

One challenge is finding buyers.

According to the report, 81.4% of sellers do not yet have an identified buyer, highlighting the difficulties overseas owners face in managing documentation, negotiations and transactions remotely.

The study also points to a mismatch between seller expectations and professional valuations, particularly in Tier-I and Tier-II cities where many owners price properties based on future infrastructure projects rather than recent transaction data.

A global wealth shift

The report places the trend in the context of India’s growing diaspora.

India has an estimated 18.5 million migrants worldwide, while it received $119.5 billion in remittances in 2023, the highest globally. As more Indians settle permanently overseas, financial priorities are shifting from accumulating assets in India to managing globally diversified portfolios.

“The trend reflects a more deliberate approach to wealth allocation rather than panic selling. Indian property has historically served NRIs as both an investment and a fallback asset, but its role is changing as many settle long term abroad. For NRIs, buying property in India was never just a real estate investment, it was a fallback plan, a retirement option, a family asset, and a link to home. As migration matures into long-term settlement, that role is shifting: these assets now help NRIs optimise their wealth portfolios back home,” said Nair.

The report is derived from proprietary data gathered from approximately 150 NRI client engagements, including property intake disclosures, transaction records, financial inputs, and cross-border transfer activities, primarily based in North America.