Amit Modi, Director ABA CORP, President-Elect CREDAI Western UP
The RBI announcements have been very much on the expected lines, even though no measures were made for real estate and home buyers particularly in the Budget gone by. It would have been a relief, if some benefit were extended to the sector today, as the experts awaited it. The repo rate remains unchanged at 4%, however for the industry to revive we are still expecting some kind of stimulus from the Union government and RBI in its forthcoming policy meetings.
Manoj Gaur, CMD, Gaurs Group and Chairman, Affordable Housing Committee, CREDAI (National)
The decision of RBI to keep the key rates unchanged is in line with the expectation of the markets. The headline inflation is on a downward spiral now which gives hope that the RBI will be able to bring down Repo Rates as the year progresses. For now, we are happy that the Apex bank wants to back growth and help the sectors that have worst affected in the last few quarters. The momentum presented by the Finance Minister in the Budget recently seems to be continuing with the MPC today
Mohit Goel,CEO, Omaxe Ltd.The RBI’s decision to hold repo rate at 4% and maintain accommodative stance in the future augurs well for the real estate sector which has seen some uptick in demand due to low lending rates. On the back of an infrastructure led Budget, we hope the RBI’s continued support to the sector will help revive growth.
Prasoon Chauhan, Founder & CEO, BlackOpal
While the RBI has kept the repo rate unchanged, we feel that real estate will benefit from the position of the Apex bank that the NBFCs will have access to the targeted long-term repo activity (TLTRO). With this decision, we hope the liquidity situation will improve and the NBFCs will extend financial support to the real estate sector. The demand for real estate assets is already strong and we are seeing increased sales in the coming quarter due to multiple factors including low home loan interest rates.
Uddhav Poddar, MD, Bhumika Group
The Apex bank has keep repo rate unchanged, and it was on the expected lines. Looking at the whole MPC, it is obvious that the Apex bank is positive about economic development. The position exudes trust in the growth of the economy, and it has taken measures for different industries and sectors in the last few months. The real estate sector has always been looking for easy liquidity, and the RBI has decided to raise it by allowing more funds to NBFCs, which would keep liquidity in the market and may also help the real estate sector. While real estate needs several measures, it is good enough to implement the announcements made in the last few months to achieve progress. We expect banks to disburse loans more quickly to ensure that the sentiment of buyers remains high
Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, Housing.com, Makaan.com and Proptiger.com:
The decision of RBI to keep the Repo Rate unchanged along with accommodative stance is understandable at this juncture, although a further cut in the key rates would have given a boost to current demand uptick that we have seen recently. The measures announced by the RBI Governor today for liquidity enhancement in the economy is indeed a good step and was much required. Real estate has been badly hit during the pandemic and the recent Budget announcements and the RBI’s decision today will help the sector to cope up with markets’ uncertainties better in the near future.
Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Global Group, Chairman, ASSOCHAM, National Council on Real Estate, Housing and Urban Development
Increased demand is already enjoyed by the affordable housing market, and the RBI’s new unchanged stance will not have much impact on demand per se. Indeed, the RBI’s growth forecasts will instill optimistic market sentiment, which will translate into good numbers for the real estate sector as well. If the economy recovers, which is likely after the RBI said in the MPC review that it will preserve market liquidity and the job market remains vibrant, then the buyer of the affordable housing segment can speed up the property ownership process. Right now, we understand the step taken in this MPC by the RBI and hope that growth forecasts will improve, leading to a vibrant real estate sector market.
Ashish Bhutani, MD, Bhutani Infra
We were expecting the RBI to come up with unique announcements for the commercial segment that could fuel investment. We understand the status quo situation, however, since the ability to adjust the repo rate below 4 percent was restricted. The last significant announcement for the commercial segment was in February 2020, when the RBI allowed project loans for commercial real estate to be extended to the date of commencement of commercial operations (DCCO). The segment is in desperate need of liquidity, which also depends on the status of the priority lending, and we hope that the segment will get sufficient liquidity as the RBI said TLTRO is available for NBFCs.
Raman Gupta, Director – Branding & Construction, GBP Group
The real estate sector has always been struggling to maintain liquidity, and the apex bank in today’s MPC meeting has decided to address it by granting more funds to NBFCs, which would keep liquidity in the market and may also help the real estate sector, backbone of the country. The buyer sentiment is positive towards real estate, as it emerged as the most preferred investment option post unlock. It is likely to continue in the coming year with support extended to affordable housing and boost given to infrastructure leading to growth opportunities in Tier II-III cities.
Harvinder Singh Sikka, MD, Sikka GroupThe recent Budget Announcements gave some support to the real estate industry today MPC announcements, coming right after the Budget, have further given hope to the sector. The accommodative stance of the RBI, together with the impetus given by the Union Budget recently, will pave the way for speedier recovery of the economy. Any move to put money in the hands of the people at this juncture will improve the demand for housing and will give the relief to the real estate developers who have been gasping for breath due to the punishment meted out by the Covid 19 pandemic.
Kushagr Ansal, Ansal Housing and President, CREDAI, Haryana
In its recent monetary policy review meeting, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) retained the status quo on key policy rates in line with expectations, keeping key policy rates unchanged. Given that the repo rate at which the central bank loans money to scheduled commercial banks in India is already at a record low of 4%, there has certainly been little scope for further reductions.
Ashok Gupta, CMD, Ajnara India
Backed by the growth forecast, the real estate sector can rely on the initiatives previously announced by the RBI. Over the past few months, Apex Bank has taken a range of steps targeting the real estate market, such as rationalising risk-weighting criteria, connecting home loans to LTV, and reforming project-based loans. As home loan interest rates are already low, the growth curve is likely to be sustained by demand in the residential sector. With banks launching onboarding digital customers, the quicker disbursement of loans would also help the sector quickly close deals. To attract borrowers, several banks have already declared exemptions on transaction fees and other related costs.
We hope banks will lend vigorously, and the RBI will allow them to support the real estate sector, which is an important component of the Indian economy.
Ankit Kansal, Founder & MD 360 Realtors
After undermined by the pandemic, real estate in India is witnessing heightened demand on the back of liquidity infusion policies of the government and reduction in stamp duty in states like Maharashtra and Karnataka. In this regard, keeping the repo rate unchanged is a prudent step as it will continue to give the required liquidity cushion to the sector, where leverage plays an important role. However, government and RBI need to think more proactively towards helping stressed real estate in the country. The industry suffering from large piles of stressed/stuck inventory and to placate the growing challenge, governing bodies need to think of ways to generate need-based credit for developers, recapitalization of the NBFCs & HFCs, and forging of meaningful partnerships with private funding entities.
Nagaraju Routhu, CEO, Hero RealtyRBI’s decision to keep the key rates unchanged and its accomodative stance is positive for the real estate sector, which has been seeing some positive movement in demand off late. The expectation of the apex bank of 10.5 % GDP growth rate for the current fiscal certainly bodes well for the real estate industry, along with other sectors. RBI has done a fine balancing act by keeping the Repo Rate unchanged, yet taking measures to improve liquidity. The Budget Announcement and the decisions of the RBI today together will improve the scenario ahead for the real estate developers in the country.
Akshat Taneja, MD, TDI InfratechRBI MPC meeting is the first after the announcement of Budget, the expectations of real estate sector remained untouched in Budget.While the Governor predicted growth rate of 10.5 per cent for the financial year 2021-22, which comes as a positive sign for the overall economy. The last repo rate cut was announced in May 2020,and it still remains unchanged due to the recovery pace exhibited by the economy.We were looking for, RBI to take an Input Tax Credit call, which would have initiated buyer’s interest more due to the profit aspect