Realtors welcome status quo on rates, but worried about inflation

NEW DELHI:  Buoyed by the unchanged low interest rates and government sops, India’s real estate sector welcomed the RBI’s decision to keep key rates unchanged. However, industry members also expressed concern over the rising inflation rate and the ongoing second Covid wave, both of which, they say, need to be contained to prevent a backslide India’s retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 5.03 per cent in February from 4.06 per cent in January while Covid-19 cases have already crossed the 1 lakh/day mark here.

“We are worried over the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CREDAI National President Harsh Vardhan Patodia. Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants added that “with consumer inflation still trending at the upper end, the RBI intends to keep an eye on it in the coming months. India is witnessing its worst second wave of Covid-19, raising some uncertainty.” 

Industry players also said that lockdown-like restrictions announced in major markets such as Pune and Mumbai has slowed down construction activity in the region again. Daily enquiries and bookings 
have also recorded a marked trend downwards over the past one week.