Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the policy rate unchanged at 4 per cent and voted unanimously to maintain the status quo with an accommodative stance. The reverse repo rate remained unchanged at 3.5 per cent, and the marginal standing facility and bank rate kept unchanged at 4.25 per cent.
Most of the experts and analysts expected RBI to maintain status-quo amid rising COVID-19 cases in the country. It may be noted that the RBI had kept the key interest rate (repo) unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting.
Real Estate Leaders’ Reaction RBI MPC review
Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, National President, NAREDCO:
“The unchanged repo rate by the RBI MPC signals to keep the borrowing momentum buoyant. Also, pegging the real GDP forecast at 10.5 per cent reflects Indian economic recovery to be healthy, self-sustainable and resilient.
An additional liquidity facility of Rs 500 billion to all Indian financial institutions like NABARD, NHB and SIDBI augurs well towards fuelling sustainable growth measures. On the issue of keeping markets ‘in sync’ with its policies, the RBI has done well to convince the market about its stance on growth and liquidity management.
The guidelines on inflation and growth trajectory have mostly remained unchanged despite the recent surge in input costs. Extending LTRO for six months translates into a continued emphasis on maintaining balanced liquidity in the system by and introducing secondary market G-sec acquisition program 1.0 certainly clearly reflects the commitment to sustain growth momentum in the economy. Extension of Priority Sector lending for NBFC financing towards housing will augment the production outlay.”
Mr. Ankush Kaul, President (Sales & Marketing)- Ambience Group:
“Home loan interest rates in India have been the lowest in the past couple of years and this has led to a significant recovery in transactions in all classes of housing –  affordable, mid-segment and luxury. As the apex bank has kept the rates unchanged, we expect housing demand to continue its upward trajectory in 2021, and the overall positive economic indicators shall further help home buyers to close and finalize.”
Riaz Maniyar, Co-founder, YieldAsset Real Estate Tech Pvt Ltd:
“The decision by RBI to maintain the repo rate status quo will make sure that cost of borrowing will not harden soon. However, a further cut in the key rates would have given a boost to current demand uptick for real estate . The low-interest rates have started impacting the property markets in a positive way as maintaining low finance costs is critical for a sustainable recovery in the real estate sector and enhancing confidence in home buyers.
A wave of spending by the government across sectors has also set the stage for years of high growth of the economy which will, in turn, influence real estate too. While the government has taken some initiatives to uplift the sector in the past few months by introducing stress funds and stimulus packages, more reforms are required to propel the growth of the real estate sector.”
Lincoln Bennet Rodrigues, Founder and Chairman, Bennet & Bernard Group:
“While the real estate industry always aspires for reduced interest rates, the decision of RBI to keep the repo rate unchanged is understandable at this juncture and will make sure that home loans will continue to remain at attractive rates and this should augur well for home buying sentiment. Residential demand is reviving in the pandemic context and this needs to be fostered. A further cut in the key rates would have given a boost to the current demand uptick that we have seen recently.
Our country is recovering fast from the Covid-induced slowdown due to revival in domestic consumption – which has greatly benefitted from the benign interest rate regime, infusion of liquidity as well as stable returns of real estate investment compared to other investment instruments.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected an impressive 12.5 per cent growth rate for India in 2021, stronger than that of China which augers well for real estate sector too. As the economy is gradually opening up and getting back on track to restore the lost momentum, we feel that special attention should be paid to the real estate sector which contributes significantly to the country’s economic growth.”