The RBI has handed out a stalemate to the real estate sector after the Union Budget, said Ramesh Nair, CEO and Country Head, JLL India, reacting to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee decision. “Keeping the policy rates unchanged while maintaining the repo rate at 6 per cent and the reverse repo rate 5.75 per cent was moderately disappointing for the real estate sector. There was some hope that the RBI may relax lending rates that would prove beneficial in pushing sales for residential projects,” said Nair.

He further said the sector is working hard to align with the government’s ambitious plan of creating ‘Housing for All’. A number of reform measures have been taken such as the RERA, Benami Properties (Prevention) Act, Demonetisation and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act that have created a more transparent and accountable environment. Therefore, after a lacklustre Union Budget, a marginal relaxation in lending rates would have been a good morale booster.

Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India said: “The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged amid collective pressure from sharp spikes in crude prices, surge in bond yields, retail inflation breaching the medium-term target of 4 per cent set by the central bank and firming up of interest rates globally. The decision has come as a relief for the real estate sector, since an increase in the policy rate would trigger an adverse impact on the industry which has been grappling with a slowdown for the last three-four years.”

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