Parents often hand over land or an apartment, hoping it guarantees their kid’s future. This choice usually leaves them without any safety net. College fees rise each year, but paychecks and home prices don’t keep up. Families feel the pinch more every day. Once they lose the property, it’s gone for good. The expenses pile up, and the hardship grows worse.
Selling property to pay for school: A dangerous move that fails now. (Image Source: Canva)
Selling property to pay for school: A dangerous move that fails now. (Image Source: Canva)
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Last week, I covered how school costs outpace income rises. Wages crept up about six percent. Many schools hiked fees by twelve percent or higher.
That stress shows up clear in parents handling basic school bills.
The burden doesn’t end with early years.
Kids aiming for college abroad or advanced studies see costs jump from lakhs to many times that. I’ve watched parents turn to homes or land to close the gap in cases too.
Some borrow against their property. Others sell a family-held spot that’s lasted years. They view it as a key trade-off, turning solid assets into chances and safety for their young ones.
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In current markets, this route holds more danger than it once did.
Home prices stall in lots of cities. Higher learning costs climb fast. Families who thought they built riches by selling assets now see gains that just scrape by the fees.
Making sense of the choice
Ask parents, and they’ll call selling a home for a child’s school a smart step.
They believe it frees up value for the kid’s path ahead. Why keep land or an apartment if it won’t aid the next group’s better shot?
This idea worked for years as home values climbed. By the time a child hit college age, the house or lot had grown enough to foot the bill.
Today’s facts paint another picture.
India’s home markets have cooled fast in the past ten years. Prices in key cities hold flat after inflation.
Market data shows unsold homes in top seven cities hit over 5.6 lakh units by mid-2025. This points to extra stock and low buyer interest.
A home put up for sale now waits months for a taker. The end price often falls short. The dream of ten percent yearly jumps no longer holds.
Now weigh that with school price surges.
In India, pro degrees cost far more. Private med school runs over ₹50 lakh. An IIM MBA hits ₹20 lakh to ₹25 lakh. Top private spots for arts or engineering follow close. Abroad, for the US, UK, or Australia, tuition and life costs reach ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore per program.