Sustained pause in repo rate to benefit India's economic

Mumbai, Feb 08: Sustained pause in the repo rate is poised to benefit India's economic trajectory positively, feel experts. RBI kept Repo rate unchanged at 6.50%

Anu Aggarwal, President & Head Corporate Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "As the RBI maintains its stance of no change on interest rates for the sixth consecutive policy review, we acknowledge the stability it brings to the financial landscape.”

The sustained pause in the repo rate is poised to benefit India's economic trajectory positively. Moreover, the remarkable growth in capital expenditure witnessed in FY24, coupled with robust capex push by the government underscores a pivotal moment for economic resurgence. The capex push also aligns with the broader endeavour to propel India towards achieving its $5 trillion economy milestone, she added.

RBI has extended the festive bonanza that it gave to the homebuyers in its last two policy announcements

Commenting on it, Anuj Puri, Chairman – Anarock Group, said, “With the fundamentals of the Indian economy remaining strong despite all global headwinds and inflation well under control, the RBI once again decided to keep the repo rates unchanged at 6.5 per cent, thus extending the festive bonanza that it gave to the homebuyers in its last two policy announcements.”

Thus, homebuyers retain their advantage of relatively affordable home loan interest rates, he said.

If we consider the present trends, the housing market has been unstoppable, and unchanged home loan rates will help maintain the overall positive consumer sentiments. Given that housing prices have risen across the top 7 cities in the last one year, this breather by the RBI is a distinct advantage to homebuyers, he added.

As per its Research, 2023 saw average housing prices rise by anywhere between 10-24% in the top 7 cities, with Hyderabad recording the highest 24% jump. The average prices in these markets stood at approx. INR 7,080 per sq. ft., while in 2022 it was approx. INR 6,150 per sq. ft. – a collective increase of 15%.

Going forward, we can expect the momentum in housing sales to continue, significantly aided by the unchanged repo rates which will keep home loan interest rates attractive and also signal ongoing robustness of India’s positive economic outlook.