While demand for sub Rs 50-lakh affordable housing prevails, market players cite increased land rates, escalated construction costs and low margins as key prohibiting factors.
The US's recent 50 per cent tariff on Indian exports will have a trickledown effect on India's affordable housing, potentially derailing demand as well as supply in this segment, according to experts. Pointing to worker incomes and jobs in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that typically make up majority of the customer base of affordable housing, would take a hit in the near terms due to the tariff change, further crippling India's affordable housing sector, already reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
'India cannot speak of a demographic dividend if half its young women are unable to participate in paid work.'
'Unless banks focus on the Rs 10-15 lakh loan segment, growing affordable housing will remain a challenge.'
'Developers are into profit-making. And there's not too much money in the affordable segment.' 'So, they don't do affordable housing.'
Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS release a joint manifesto for Mumbai civic polls, promising free power, allowances for domestic helps, and property tax waivers.
The banking sector could see better loan growth in the third quarter of financial year 2026 (Q3FY26) with improved net interest margins (NIMs), though the full impact of latest rate cuts will be largely felt in the fourth quarter. There may be lower slippage in unsecured loans and microfinance institutions (MFIs) along with steady recovery trends, which should lower credit cost.
After three post-pandemic years of an upcycle, it was a mixed bag for the realty sector in 2025, with sales volumes in the residential real estate moderating across top cities, and commercial real estate and institutional investments emerging as standout performers. Residential: Volumes soften, value holds firm.
While gold continues to provide safety after its strong 2025 rally, well-chosen real estate investments held with a long-term view remain attractive.
'Focus will be on smaller loan amounts to meet the needs of affordable homebuyers.'
Affordable homes, priced under Rs 40 lakh per unit, may not be attractive anymore, not just for developers but also for investors, with the segment seeing a 26 per cent price rise over three years since 2022 versus 40 per cent returns from luxury homes priced Rs 1.5 crore and above.
Mortgage finance remains a structural growth opportunity in India with a policy focus on affordable housing, housing shortages, low mortgage penetration, and rising incomes as drivers. Affordable Housing Finance Companies (AHFCs) serve the mass market, low-income segments, which is the least-serviced category, and to operate in this segment, the mortgage provider needs good assessment skills. AHFCs and HFCs have also been increasing exposure in other mortgage segments (loan against property, developer loans among others).
The real estate sector wants "high-impact" measures, like special schemes and tax breaks for developers, to revive the fortunes of the affordable housing segment in the country, multiple executives told Business Standard. This segment has been struggling since the Covid-19 outbreak, in contrast to larger and costlier homes which have been selling like hot cakes. The demand comes at a time when the government is taking suggestions from industry players before tabling the General Budget in the Parliament next month.
For commercial banks to float subsidiaries, approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may not remain mandatory, according to highly placed sources.
Indian government's decision to cut GST rates on various products will increase purchasing power of consumers and boost demand for residential properties in the upcoming festive season, according to realtors' body CREDAI. The association, which has a 13,000 members from across India, said the construction cost is expected to come down because of reduction in GST rates on cement and few other building materials.
The new scheme may be announced before the Lok Sabha elections.
The mass of voters chose Kejriwal and Mamdani for the simple reason that they were sick and tired of the stale promises and repetitive speeches belted out for long by mainstream political personalities, notes M R Narayan Swamy.
'As Mayor, I will use my platform to reject any efforts by the Trump administration to curtail immigration.'
Bengaluru is at a critical juncture, where its economic model, reliant on attracting and retaining skilled professionals, is directly threatened by a measurable decline in urban quality of life, point out Shishir Gupta and Rishita Sachdeva.
Part-I of this three-part series dives into Delhi-NCR's SPR, Sohna, Dwarka Expressway, and Jewar Airport leading the charge.
The move is to align affordable housing finance flows to the increase in property costs and inflation, says Raghu Mohan.
Real-estate firms have welcomed the Goods and Services Tax Council's reforms, expecting better affordability for buyers, spurring demand. The council has reduced the rate on cement from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, while the rate on sand lime bricks or stone inlay work and granite blocks has been cut to 5 per cent from 12 per cent.
Realtors' apex body CREDAI described the RBI decision to cut repo rate by 50 basis points as a bold step and said this will help boost sales of residential properties.
The affordable housing segment may be seeing an uptick which is a good sign of consumption momentum. This is the biggest-ticket purchase for middle income and lower income families. The current activity is at least partly driven by a pause in interest rate hikes.
Chartered accountant Nitin Kaushik's message to India's young workforce is clear: spend smart, save smarter and let money serve your goals.
After the post-pandemic slump in demand, unsold inventory in the affordable housing segment in the top seven cities dropped by 19 per cent in the first quarter of the 2025 calendar year (Q1CY25), according to a report by real estate consultancy firm Anarock.
Housing demand should improve nationwide after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the repo rate by a larger-than-expected 50 basis points (bps) on Friday, said real estate industry executives. The rate cut comes after housing sales in top Indian cities in the first quarter of 2025 dipped 28 per cent due to skyrocketing residential property prices and geopolitical headwinds, according to Anarock.
Bandhan Bank is expecting that a little less than 50 per cent of its portfolio will be dominated by affordable housing loans in the next three to five years.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision to cut the repo rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 5.5% was contrary to the expectations of many economists. Firstly, most of the economists expected the MPC to cut the repo rate by 25 bps citing the weakening of inflation, prospects of economic growth, geopolitical uncertainty and comfortable system liquidity.
As the Union Budget 2025-2026 (FY26) inches closer, the Indian real estate industry is seeking stamp duty cuts, revised home loan limits and updated affordable housing norms through Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY), single-window clearance and eco-friendly policies, among others. Industry leaders and consultancy firms, including Anarock, Raheja, Gaurs, Kanodia Group, Reach, Urban Space, Justo and Eros Group, have shared their expectations.
Budget has proposed an additional deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh for interest paid on loans borrowed up to end-March, 2020 for purchase of an affordable house, valued up to 45 lakh.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested former Haryana Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker from a five-star hotel in Delhi following a brief scuffle. Chhoker, along with his sons, is accused of defrauding over 1,500 homebuyers and siphoning off over Rs 500 crore through their real-estate companies. The ED had been seeking Chhoker's presence in the investigation since May 2022. The politician was caught at the Grappa Bar of the Shangri-La hotel on Ashoka Road. He is currently in ED custody for six days.
'This segment has performed very well for us and this is reflected in our bounce rate which is about three to four per cent.'
Venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds had, in 2024, taken bets on traditional businesses rather than tech-first domains like consumer tech, software as a service (SaaS) and software. According to data from Bain & Co, Pitchbook, Venture Intelligence, VCC Edge and AVCJ, prominent VC funds like PeakXV saw their share in this traditional space go up sharply from 14 per cent in 2023 to 23 per cent in 2024.
Given that some reputed builders are also present in this segment and the cheap rates, does affordable housing make a good investment option?
The 31st meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, held in December 2018, deferred a decision to reduce the GST rate for cement from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. This was despite recognising that cement - along with automobile parts - remained among the few mass-consumption items still taxed at the highest slab, which was originally meant for luxury and sin goods.
Realty players want single window clearance for all affordable projects, reports Karan Choudhury.
The new launches in the affordable category could just be another marketing gimmick to push sales and mop up money.
/We will stay away from corporate loans,' C S Ghosh, managing director and chief executive officer of Bandhan Bank, tells Namrata Acharya.
Battered and bruised by the slowdown, real estate developers have done a mid-course strategy correction and begun to offer low-cost and affordable houses.
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