Track2Realty: Across micro-markets, investor sentiment has been impacted due to inflationary pressures and rising interest rates through the course of 2012, which have only come down marginally with a few policy revisions by the apex bank in the second half of the year.
Track2Realty-Agencies: After some neglect in the past several years, the realty industry in India finally saw some reforms that had a direct and indirect impact on its fortunes and which led to the some development of the sector in 2012. The prospect of a revival looks brighter once the central bank keeps it promise of cutting interest rates to spur overall growth.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The best part is that the banks are now a party to revive the property drive in the city. They are also hosting property exhibitions, introducing combo products that offer further interest rate reduction on a car loan if a customer has already taken a home loan and are sugar coating home loan products, besides cutting interest rates and waiving processing fees to pep up demand for home loans.
The residential market in Mumbai witnessed subdued growth in the first half of 2012 in the back drop of high interest rates. While there was a decline in supply addition compared to the second half of 2011, the stock of unsold inventory increased during the review period. These are the findings of CBRE’s latest report titled “Market View India Residential.”
With interest rates remaining high and real estate prices rising further, the growth in housing loans declined to 12.1 per cent in fiscal 2011-12 from 15 per cent in the previous year. The growth rate in non-food bank credit was also down at 17 per cent during the year as compared with 20.6 per cent in the previous year, the Reserve Bank of India said.
It has been a difficult market to be in as a developer. Rising interest rates have impacted the customer interest in new properties moderating the flow of new funds and in addition to that high inflation and rising commodity prices have increased substantially the delivery cost for existing projects.
Replicating global trends, the Indian economy is looking towards an impending slowdown in growth due to decline in consumption expenditure, repeated hikes in interest rates and consistently high inflation.
High property prices coupled with continued increase in home loan interest rates over the last six months and inflationary pressures will keep transaction activities restrained.
Mumbai’s residential home sales dropped to a three-year low in the quarter ended December as record home prices and higher interest rates crimped demand, according to Liases Foras Real Estate Rating & Research Pvt.
At a time when interest rates on home loans are hovering around 11-14 per cent, realty firm BPTP has joined hands with private sector lender HDFC to finance new purchases of houses at just 5.99 per cent for a limited period till December 31.