RBI rates unchanged, housing to benefit

The continuation of low home loan interest rate regime is bound to instill more confidence in home buyers

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to keep key policy rates unchanged will lead to continuation of low interest rates on home loans and support ongoing recovery of housing demand, according to property developers and consultants.

Welcoming the RBI policy, CREDAI President Harshvardhan Patodia said the “RBI’s accommodative stance on keeping the repo and reverse repo rate unchanged is undoubtedly a progressive and cautious move especially in times when the entire industry is carefully assessing the possible impact of the new Omicron wave.”

The continuation of low home loan interest rate regime is bound to instill more confidence to the homebuyers and support the ongoing market and economic recovery which has been promising, post a good festive season, he added.

Niranjan Hiranandani, vice-chairman of NAREDCO and MD of Hiranandani Group, said the real estate sector will benefit from the low home loan interest rates which continue as a result of the RBI MPC’s decision.

“Homebuyers should make the most of historic low home loan interest rates regime,” he said. Tata Realty and Infrastructure MD and CEO Sanjay Dutt said the decision to keep rates unchanged will provide an opportunity for low interest regime, which would support the residential market and enable homebuyers to avail alltime low home loan rates to buy their dream homes.

“Furthermore, real estate has been at the forefront of driving the economy on the growth path at a high pace, and this decision will encourage homebuyers to opt for and invest in their dream homes as the window for the rate change has been shortened,” he added.

Puravankara Managing Director Ashish R Puravankara said the last few quarters have seen robust sales within the real estate sector across different asset classes.

“The accommodative stance has fuelled the rise of aspirational buyers, who can now claim loans, taking advantage of the all-time low-interest regime. This status quo is especially relevant now to sustain buyer confidence amid the concerns of the new COVID-19 variant,” Puravankara added.

Omaxe Ltd MD Mohit Goel said the move will support the revival of businesses sensitive to interest rate movements. “Low lending rates will be the biggest factor in further augmenting the economic growth and kick-starting the stagnant business activities, including real estate.”

Santosh Agarwal, CFO and executive director of Alpha Corp, said the announcement will bring cheer for the housing sector and help boost the economy.

“Sustaining the accommodative stance will enable banks to lend home loans at the current level which is a most promising factor for homebuyers’ decisions,” Agarwal said.

Anshuman Magazine, chairman and CEO (India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa) of CBRE, said this steady stance will augur well for home loan borrowers and India’s real estate market. -(PTI)