Page 5 - Housing Sector

Scheme for relief on home loan interest to be launched in September

The scheme to provide relief in interest on bank loans for those dreaming of their own house in cities will be launched in September, an official of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs ministry said on Thursday. Addressing a press conference, Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the modalities of the scheme are being worked out. "The scheme to provide relief in interest on bank loans for those looking to own houses in cities will be launched in September," Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry Secretary Manoj Joshi said. During his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the scheme for middle-class families who live in cities but do not own a house. "Middle-class families are dreaming of their own house in cities. We will soon launch a scheme for them. "We have decided to give relief in bank loan interest by providing a help of lakhs of rupees to families living in rented houses, unauthorised colonies and shanties in cities, to build their own house," Modi h

Tax tribunal allows capital gain exemption in case of house purchase

Exemption allowed even if agreement to buy new house is signed before selling the old one: ITAT

Housing demand has power to unlock economy's potential: HDFC Bank Director

HDFC Bank Director Keki Mistry on Wednesday asserted that the demand for housing will continue in India and it has the power to unlock the potential of the economy. Speaking at the foundation day celebration of Bandhan Bank, Mistry said the housing sector also generates huge employment and has a better credit risk profile than other segments. "Housing holds the key to unlock the potential of the economy. I am optimistic about the demand for housing in India. It also generates huge employment," Mistry, vice-chairman and CEO of erstwhile HDFC said. Mortgage lender HDFC has now been merged with HDFC Bank. Mistry said the penetration level of mortgage lending is very low in the country as compared to the US or China. "Mortgage to GDP ratio is very low in India," he said. "The structural demand for housing in the country will always be strong," Mistry said, adding that "housing loans are safe and have better credit risk profile". Regarding corporate governance (CG), Mistry said the r

PHDCCI submits recommendations related to housing, banking sectors to RBI

Industry body PHDCCI has submitted several recommendations on issues related to the housing sector, banking and foreign trade to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. A delegation of PHDCCI led by its president Saket Dalmia met the governor and submitted the recommendations. Amidst global economic challenges and ongoing pandemic impact, the chamber made a strong case for lowering housing sector interest rates to stimulate growth. Lower rates can invigorate investments, bolster consumption, enhance competitiveness, and aid industries facing headwinds, it said. "While we understand and appreciate the efforts of the Reserve Bank of India in stabilising the economy and ensuring liquidity, we believe that a reduction in interest rates at this juncture would provide a much-needed boost to our industry," it said in the submission to Das. The chamber highlighted several issues related to the banking sector, including the rectification of export realisation purpose codes and the protection of GST

Super luxury flat sales up 50% in Mumbai , Gurgaon home sells for Rs 50 cr

Increased demand from the Non-Resident Indian segment due to the strengthening of the US Dollar

Sheltertech Summit discusses challenges in providing sustainable shelter

Habitat for Humanity, a global non-profit organisation working in the housing sector, organised the Sheltertech Summit India here on Thursday to discuss the technical challenges of creating affordable and sustainable dwellings. The meet also highlighted industry collaborations and up-and-coming sheltertech startups building affordable and sustainable housing products and services. The event organised in partnership with Villgro and ANDE-India, saw the launch of the Construction Innovation Hub (CIH) by Habitat for Humanity and Kerala Startup Mission (KSM). It served as a platform for construction value chain players like startups, building materials companies, housing finance firms, architects, engineers and others in the industry to share their sustainable construction experiences, best practices and solutions, a release here said. With increased living costs across the country and the construction sector being one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions, small and large ..

RBI looking at additional loans for home buyers of stuck projects

A meeting of a committee was held on June 19 to discuss issues related to "legacy stalled projects" in real estate

Higher demand pushed residential prices up 6% in April-June quarter: Report

During the April-June period, housing sales across the eight major cities experienced an 8% increase to 80,250 units

Residential sales between January and June touched 15-year-high: JLL report

The highest residential sales were recorded in Bengaluru followed by Mumbai and Pune

Proptech startup OfficeBanao raises funds from ex-Meta MD, ex-Collier CEO

Real estate startup OfficeBanao, which raised USD 6 million from Lightspeed in April this year, on Thursday said it has raised funds from three angel investors, including former Meta India MD Ajit Mohan and former Colliers India CEO Ramesh Nair. The company did not disclose the amount raised. Gurugram-based OfficeBanao, which is a workspace interior platform, said in a statement that it has "raised an undisclosed amount of angel investment" from Ajit Mohan, founding CEO, Hotstar and former MD, Meta India, Ramesh Nair and Apurva Chamaria - Head of Partnership solutions, start-ups & venture capital, Google India. The startup seeks to disrupt the competitive workspace interior market with its comprehensive, end-to-end service.. With the additional funding, OfficeBanao plans to fuel its expansion. "The funds will be utilized to further enhance its technology-driven platform, accelerate product development, and expand its workforce," the statement said. The platform is for designers,

Unsold inventory of homes priced above Rs 2.5 cr down, says Anarock

The number of unsold luxury homes fell the sharpest, 24%, in the Mumbai Metropolitan region

Housing prices surge to 59% on high demand; Delhi-NCR sees highest rise

Housing prices in Delhi-NCR rose the maximum, by 16 per cent, in the January-March period among top eight cities on better demand and higher construction cost, according to a report by CREDAI, Colliers and Liases Foras. Realtors' apex body CREDAI, real estate consultant Colliers and data analytic firm Liases Foras on Wednesday released their joint 'Housing Price-Tracker Report Q1 2023'. As per the report, housing prices across the top eight cities rose 8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y). Delhi-NCR saw the highest increase in residential prices at 16 per cent YoY, followed by Kolkata and Bengaluru with 15 per cent and 14 per cent YoY increase respectively. The report mentioned that housing prices in Delhi-NCR have seen a steady rise since the last 11 quarters. "Notably, Dwarka Expressway witnessed a significant price rise at 59 per cent YoY, largely led by opening of Central Peripheral Road and the loop connecting Dwarka expressway with NH-8," it said. Housing prices in Golf Course R

Property prices rise in 43 out of 50 cities in Q4 of FY23: NHB data

As many as 43 cities out of 50 registered an increase in property prices during fourth quarter of 2022-23, according to the National Housing Bank (NHB) data released on Thursday. However, 7 cities registered a decline in the property prices. The home loan rates are still lower than that of pre-Covid period leading to a healthy affordability overall, it said. India's eight key primary residential markets witnessed appreciating property prices during the January-March 2023 period. Ahmedabad with a rise of 10.8 per cent, Bengaluru (9.4 per cent), Chennai (6.8 per cent), Delhi (1.7 per cent), Hyderabad (7.9 per cent), Kolkata (11 per cent), Mumbai (3.1 per cent) and Pune (8.2 per cent) recorded an increase in the index on an annual basis as per the Housing Price Index (HPI) published by NHB. The 50 city HPI based on valuation of properties collected from banks and housing finance companies (HPI @ Assessment Prices) recorded an annual increase of 5.8 per cent during the fourth quarter o

New projects account for 41% housing sales in Q1CY23 in top 7 mkts: Anarock

Share of newly launched homes was much lower in the same period of CY19, with just 26% homes sold in new projects out of about 78,520 units

Singapore may vote on soaring rent as locals feel real estate price pinch

Singapore's Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said, in Singapore, the prime minister has to be a real estate agent while acknowledging that prices have soared

Housing.com and Niro come together to offer facility to pay rent on credit

Proptech firm Housing.com has tied up with fintech startup Niro to offer customers the facility to pay their rent on credit. Housing.com, which is part of Australian firm REA, has started this credit solution -- Rent Now Pay Later (RNPL) service, in partnership with Bengaluru-based Niro. "Now, rent can be paid on Housing.com by users with a zero-convenience fee, an interest-free credit period of up to 40 days, as well as an option to convert rent payments into easy monthly instalments (EMIs)," the company said in a statement. Housing.com had earlier started offering customers the facility to pay rent using credit cards. "However, given that only 4 per cent of Indians have credit cards, the Rent Now Pay Later service affords non-carded users a significant flexibility in their financial planning - allowing them to pay their rent at zero cost and freeing up a significant portion of their disposable income for other items," it said. The new service further provides users with the opti

Budget balanced, likely to boost demand in housing sector: Realty industry

"Moreover, the sustained attention on manufacturing and improvement of urban infrastructure is likely to boost the I&L sector and at the same time spur economic activity and job creation"

Affordable housing demand down to 26% in 2022: Sector expects on budget

While the affordable housing segment, the backbone of the housing sector has witnessed a poor performance, the country's residential real estate sector looks to Budget 2023-24

Record-high housing sales in 2022, new launches in 7 top cities: Data

The year 2022 witnessed record-high housing sales and new launches across the top seven cities in the country, according to new data

Experts see 2023 as a year of smooth sailing for real estate sector

Demand likely to remain buoyant despite prospects of another rate hike; industry looking for tax breaks, lower transaction costs