RBI Unchanged Repo Rate To Benefit Home Buyers

As widely anticipated, the RBI has decided to keep the repo rates unchanged at 6.5%. India continues to outperform other countries in terms of consumption and with the festive season coming up, the RBI will not risk denting it.

"As widely anticipated, the RBI has decided to keep the repo rates unchanged at 6.5 per cent. India continues to outperform other countries in terms of consumption, and with the festive season coming up, the RBI will not risk denting it," said Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Group

The National Vice Chairman of NAREDCO, Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, stated that the RBI's pause in rate hikes over the past few quarters will certainly drive up real estate growth. With stronger domestic consumption and NRI demand, the upcoming festive tailwinds are expected to create demand traction in the ownership and built-to-rent housing segments. In recent years, corporate balance sheets have improved due to ample liquidity, market consolidation, alternative funding avenues, and heavy debt servicing. Consequently, the market is experiencing a supply catch-up to meet the soaring demand for mid-priced and luxury housing, while the weakening demand for affordable housing represents a spoiler alert.

Girish Kousgi, MD and CEO at PNB Housing Finance, said, "RBI's decision to keep the repo rates unchanged at 6.5% for the third time in a row, is a positive news for the real estate industry. The home buyer sentiment has been strong thus far in 2023, and the stability in rates will help keep up this momentum. Factors like attractive government incentives, increased urbanization, rising disposable income and post-pandemic pent-up demand have resulted in a rise in the appetite for housing units in India. Looking ahead, the housing finance industry will benefit from this buoyancy and continue to capitalize on this opportunity by offering a variety of home loan products at competitive rates to potential homebuyers.”

Ankush Kaul, Chief Business Officer at Ambience Group hailed the RBI's move and said that the  discerning homebuyers should avail benefits of cooling inflation, stable home loan rates. The judgement is welcome news for prospective homebuyers who plan to apply for home loans in the near future. The current momentum in housing sales, which have shown spectacular increase in the first half of 2023, is anticipated to be sustained by the unaltered repo rate.”