Realty News Roundup: Raghuram Rajan Cuts Repo Rate By 50 bps; NITI Aayog Approves Restructuring of Indira Awas Yojana
Realty News Roundup is PropGuide's selection of top stories from the real estate sector
Top News
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has scaled down the repo rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 6.75 per cent with immediate effect. The announcement was made at the central bank's fourth bi-monthly monetary policy review for the current fiscal. Reports suggest that the rate cut, the biggest in over three years, will bolster the economy and bring down the cost of home and corporate loans. Meanwhile, the RBI has scaled down gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection to 7.4 per cent for 2015-16. The real estate industry has welcomed the decision and appealed the banks to forward the benefit to home buyers. The stock market cheered the announcement, with realty and auto stocks witnessing gains. For highlights of RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's speech, click here.
In another development, the NITI Aayog has approved a proposal to restructure the Indira Awas Yojana, a scheme to provide homes for 29.5 million people in rural India over a period of seven years. The project, which will cost Rs 2.25 lakh crore, will be the beginning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's 'Housing for All by 2022' scheme. Read more
A joint study by industry body, Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) , and Thought Arbitrage Research Institute (TARI) , says, “Investment in infrastructure needs to go up from the current level of six per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) to about 10 per cent to ensure the government's 'Make in India' initiative leads the country's growth”. It also suggests redesigning of public-private partnership model. Read more
Off the front page
Mint reports that absorption of commercial real estate space has improved and this trend is likely to continue. In this report, PropTiger.com CEO Dhruv Agarwala says that "rental yield is higher”. In his views on investing in commercial real estate, Agarwala says, “One has to be careful about economic cycles, which can lead to volatility in absorption of new commercial developments. Lease rentals can fluctuate substantially based on economic cycles." Read more
Upcoming event: India Green Building Council (IGBC) will be hosting the 13th edition of Green Building Congress at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, from November 19 to 21. This is the biggest-green building event in South Asia and will focus on the national agenda of 'Green, Smart and Healthy Cities'. Read more
Opinion
The Centre is all set to build 100 smart cities across India. But, are we ready to occupy them? An NDTV article argues that our smart cities won't work without smart citizens. Read here.