India's housing market has remained resilient this festival season (Dussehra-Diwali period), despite global macroeconomic challenges, tech-sector layoffs, and affordability pressures, with developers reporting 10-25 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in home sales across major cities.
Hiring activity has gained momentum in anticipation of upcoming festivals like Raksha Bandhan, Dussehra, Diwali, seasonal sales and the wedding season.
Categories such as washing machines, refrigerators and television sets have seen sales growth of around 8-10 per cent in August compared to last year, industry sources said, with September also reporting a similar growth trajectory.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) State of the Economy report for October acknowledged a slowdown in some high-frequency indicators but expressed confidence in a recovery, aided by consumption demand during the festival season. "In India, aggregate demand is poised to shrug off the temporary slowdown in momentum in the second quarter of 2024-25 as festival demand picks up pace and consumer confidence improves," said the report released on Monday.
Domestic traffic fell 7.8 per cent in November.
Holidays on Ram Navami and Janmashtami, associated with the most popular of Hindu deities Lord Rama and Lord Krishna respectively, have been done away with and on the other hand, the number of days requiring schools to remain shut for Muslim festivals has been increased, Modi alleged.
Retailers want rental waivers should be extended for a few more months, since business is not expected to pick up before the Dussehra-Diwali period, which falls in October-November.
New development rules trigger rush of festive-season launches, firms also offer goodies to woo buyers.
Biharis seem to have broken the caste divide to vote for good governance in a deeply caste-ridden society and that is Nitish Kumar's biggest triumph.
The much-awaited festive season is unlikely to bring any cheers to the travel industry, including the airline sector, as less than 20 per cent of people polled plan to travel during October-November amid the pandemic, a survey said.
While festive season spends by consumers did contribute to the uptick seen in Q3, experts said greater aggression displayed by retailers to corner a larger share of the shopper's wallet also worked.
Christmas is a perfect time for most NRIs to travel back to India and include property buying in their schedule. Ahmedabad, Kochi, Ludhiana and Chandigarh are some cities that witness generous investments from NRI investors.
Sales have picked up in the past few days for retailers in the apparel and consumer durables segments.
There may be huge discounts and easy EMI options on your favourite expensive smartphone, but do not swipe your credit card left, right and centre, warns Rajiv Raj
Gifts for loved ones, spending on yourself on impulse buying on EMIs and credit cards can leave your financial health completely stressed by the end of the year, says Harshala Chandorkar, Senior Vice President -- Consumer Relations, CIBIL
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