IN MUMBAI, the largest residential real estate market in India, 8,576 houses were sold in October, the highest for that month in a decade. November, it seems, is going to be as good—1,441 properties were registered in the first week of the month, according to the real estate consultancy Knight Frank India.
The past six years had been rough for the residential real estate sector. Demonetisation, disruptions caused by the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act and the goods and services tax and a liquidity crisis had driven down demand for houses. The pandemic was the final blow. Inventories piled up and developers hit the brakes on new launches.
The hard times, however, seem to be over now, with buyers returning to the market. As the prices are steady, it continues to be an excellent market for buyers. The biggest draw, however, is the all-time low interest rates. During the pandemic, central banks around the world slashed interest rates and pumped money into the system. The Reserve Bank of India cut the repo rate (the benchmark rate at which it lends to banks) to just 4 per cent. Banks, in turn, slashed their rates. Some banks offer home loans at 6.40 per cent interest now.
“A healthy environment fostered by low home loan interest rates is set to continue as the RBI has kept key policy rates unchanged for the eighth consecutive time in early October,” said Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank India.
Esta historia es de la edición November 28, 2021 de THE WEEK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 28, 2021 de THE WEEK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
