Realtors want banks to pass on benefits of last two rate cuts

Realtors' apex body CREDAI today demanded that the RBI should impress upon the banks to pass on the benefits of previous two rate cuts of 0.50 per cent to the home loan borrowers.
CREDAI, which has around 11,500 members across India, also said that housing sales have picked up since the beginning of this year, but could improve significantly only if interest rates on home loan come down to single-digit.
"We want that banks should pass on the benefits of rates cuts of 0.5 per cent already announced by the RBI to the home loan borrowers," newly elected CREDAI President Getamber Anand told reporters today after RBI kept policy rates unchanged.

The RBI should direct banks to pass on the benefits to the borrowers, he added.
Since the beginning of this year, RBI has reduced the key interest rate by 0.5 per cent in two rounds, but banks are yet to pass on the benefits to customers.
Commenting on the policy, CREDAI Chairman Irfan Razack said it was on the expected line.

"I can't expect RBI to cut key interest rate every time. Direction has already been set for the lower interest rates. Interest rates are on downward trend," Razack added.
Asked about the housing market, Anand said: "Things have started moving. The sales transactions are happening."

However, he said the housing sales would improve substantially if the interest rates on home loans come down to single-digit.
According to property consultant, JLL India housing sales fell to 1.75 lakh units in the primary markets of seven major cities in 2014 compared with nearly 2 lakh units in the previous year. These seven cities are Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune.
Real estate market, particularly housing, has been witnessing slowdown in the last few years due to high property prices and costlier interest rates. This has resulted in huge delay in completion of the housing projects, particularly in Delhi-NCR.