Hike in interest rates by banks may hit housing demand: Realtors
Soon after the central bank Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the repo rate by 40 basis points, the banking sector imitated the same by increasing interest rates in lending and deposit schemes.
From major banks to even small finance banks, several joined the bandwagon of raising lending and deposits rate.
A number of banks raised their external benchmark based lending rates following an increase of 0.40 per cent in the repo rate -- at which the RBI lends short term money to banks.
This move by the banks is expected to impact the growth of the real estate industry and may hit the housing demand.
"The all-time low home loan interest regime had boosted the housing demand and helped the economy to get back to the pre-Covid levels. It also enabled a robust recovery in the real estate sector," said Kaushal Agarwal -- Chairman, The Guardians Real Estate Advisory.
Now, the move by the banks to hike the interest rates along with the rise in input cost on construction might temporarily limit the growth momentum of the real estate sector.