India, Feb. 12 -- When Swagata Bhar began her house-hunting journey in Bengaluru, she was taken aback by the small sizes of most 1BHKs, often less than 350 sq feet. "Some barely had enough space for a sofa in the living room, leaving little room to move around. One even lacked a bathroom-the owner just pointed to one on the terrace," Bhar recalled

Since 2023, high-demand areas in Bengaluru, including Koramangala, Sarjapur Road, Whitefield, and Bellandur, have seen annual rent hikes of up to 35%. This surge has been driven by landlords trying to recover losses incurred during the pandemic and rising demand as employees returned to the office for work.Today, Bengaluru is facing a housing crisis, with skyrocketing apartment rents putting te...