Mr Amit Goyal, CEO, India Sotheby's International Realty

 Mr Amit Goyal, CEO, India Sotheby's International Realty

We welcome RBI's status quo on policy rates. This will mean a  continuation of low home loan rates which will keep the demand momentum for homes going. In the last couple of months, we have witnessed a further reduction in interest rates of home loans to 6.5% per annum by leading financial institutions.

The RBI governor also announced that there are strong signals of recovery in the service industry, especially in IT services.  The expected GDP growth target for the current fiscal has been raised as well.  Factors also indicate softening of inflation in the near term. All in all, this brings in a lot of confidence in the Indian economy, which itself is a big positive for the housing sector.

Mr Ramesh Nair, Chief Executive Officer | India and Market Development | Asia, Colliers

Quote: “For the 8th consecutive time, the Reserve Bank of India has kept repo rates unchanged at 4%. We predicted that the repo rate will remain constant to boost consumption in the ongoing festive period. It will go a long way in steering housing sales. Several banks have already lowered their home loans rates by a stable repo rate since September 2021. Overall, it is a good time for homebuyers who can avail of low home loan rates, along with steady prices”.

RBI’s Unchanged Repo Rate Supports Homebuyers' Festive Cheer 

Anuj Puri, Chairman - ANAROCK Group:

As expected, RBI maintained the monetary policy pause, keeping the repo rate unchanged at 4% and reverse repo rate at 3.35%. In short for homebuyers, the low home loan interest rates regime will continue in the market and help foster housing demand during the ongoing festive season. Notably, this is a period when housing sales usually surge on the back of attractive offers by developers and lending banks.

The green shoots of economic revival coupled with the prevailing low interest rates will be conducive for the residential sector in the short to mid-term. ANAROCK Research indicates that we may see at least 10-15% growth in housing demand in the ongoing

festive period (Oct.-Dec) across the top 7 cities against the preceding quarter. In Q3 2021, the top 7 cities saw total housing sales of nearly 62,800 units – already the best quarterly sales since the pandemic.

If ANAROCK's predictions are accurate, the ongoing festive quarter will see at least a 35-40% yearly rise in overall housing sales across the top 7 cities as against the same period in 2020. In Q4 2020, the top 7 cities saw total housing sales of nearly 50,900 units.

Mr Pradeep Misra, MD, New Modern Buildwell Private Ltd, a real estate company having projects in Varanasi and Allahabad

The continuation of accommodative monetary policy by RBI means home loan interest rates would continue to remain low and this will help the real estate sector, particularly in tier 2 & 3 cities. Amid the festive discounts and schemes being offered by the industry accompanied by lower interest rates, we expect this festive season to be a good one for the sector.