If you are a first-time buyer, financial planners suggest going ahead with the purchase. In such a case, you house is an asset as well as your home, and helps you save on rent as well as get tax benefits. Investors, of course, need to be more careful.
In metro cities, there is a trend of big builders offering discounts on existing projects or launching new projects at subsidised rates, due to which the small builders are following suit
Analysts say property prices will remain under pressure for some time but are bound to rise in the long term. The shortage of housing in urban India supports their assessment.
"Many areas of Delhi, mostly prime South Delhi locations, have seen a price fall of 10-12% in January-June compared with the year-ago period, according to a report by CBRE South Asia, a property consultancy. In contrast, prices have risen marginally in Noida, a New Delhi suburb, while there has been a 5% price rise on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway."
"Despite the poor economic sentiment, residential supply spiked during the January-June period. More than 65,000 units were launched in the leading cities compared to about 48,000 during the second half of 2012"
"Yes in case of Hyderabad, prices have fallen due to political turmoil, while Kochi has been seeing a fall in money repatriated by non-resident Indians. "
Though the pressure on developers is immense, and rising, the real estate market, by its very nature, is localised, each location having its own dynamics.
The primary reasons for the slowdown are strict monetary regulations due to high inflation, the central bank's new norms for lending to the real estate sector and property prices touching peak levels
The real estate sector has taken another blow. In September, the Reserve bank of India (RBI) advised banks to exercise caution in financing purchases under interest subvention schemes, where the builder agrees to pay the interest for a certain period or till possession of the property.
In the April-June quarter, house prices fell in 22 out of 26 cities tracked by the National Housing Bank's Residex (residential index) compared with the January-March quarter. It is only the short-term scenario.