Why Women Should Buy Homes This Akshaya Tritiya

Women are increasingly sharing social and work spaces with men. Slowly, but surely, their participation in all spheres of life has been growing and the latest industry to benefit from this is real estate. According to certain estimates, around 30% of the home buyers in urban India comprise of women.

Here are a few reasons why it makes sense for women to invest in property in India this Akshaya Tritiya instead of gold:

• Interest Rate Cut: As the RBI cut the repo rate by 50 basis points this year, many major banks this month have cut home loan rates by 20-25 basis points. For women home buyers, the home loan rate from SBI, for instance, is now 9.85%, while earlier, it was 25 basis points higher, at 10.10%. As home loans have become cheaper, buying a home is now easier than it earlier was.

• Better ROI: As inflation is likely to decline further in the next few years, the RBI might cut the repo rate again and urge the banks to pass on the interest rate cut to borrowers. Cheaper home loans will most likely spur demand for houses, reason why property prices might appreciate ensuring better returns on investment (ROI). Another good reason to buy!

• Rising GDP: The Indian economy is likely to grow faster in the next few years. The IMF and the World Bank have predicted that India might soon overtake China and become the world’s fastest growing major. Both the World Bank and the IMF expect the Indian economy to grow at 7.5% in 2015 attributing the likely growth to a number of factors including greater private spending, the NDA government’s economic reforms, low inflation and greater investment relative to consumption. When the economy grows, the value of real estate assets might rise too, thus making investments lucrative and enhancing ROI.

• Upward Trend in Property Prices: According to the National Housing Bank (NHB) Residex Index, residential property prices have been generally rising in the second half of 2014. It is expected that the construction market will grow by 20% between 2015 and 2017. This is attributed to a stronger Rupee and lower inflation. When the Rupee was weaker and inflation was higher in the first half of 2014, residential property prices had shown a downward trend. As India adopted formal inflation targeting for the first time in its history, this trend is likely to continue. So, if you buy a home this Akshaya Tritiya, the value of your home might rise very soon.