Property News

The RBI on Tuesday hiked repo rate by 25 basis points. It said likelihood of rate action in December mid-quarter review was “relatively low”. The central bank also deregulated savings bank deposit rate with immediate effect. The 13th hike since March 2010 will make home and auto loans costlier with banks likely to pass on the hike and put further pressure on economic growth. With food inflation entering double digit figures and headline inflation almost touching the mark, most analysts did feel the central bank would increase repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 8.
                  
50 per cent. The RBI has hiked key policy rates 12 times since March 2010 to control inflationary pressure. However, that hasn’t helped in bringing down inflation much. The central bank hiked repo and reverse rates by 25 basis points each to 8.25 per cent and 7.25 per cent respectively last month.
                  
Food inflation rose sharply to cross double digit levels at 10.6 per cent for the week ended Oct 8 as against 9.32 per cent in the previous week. The headline inflation based on the wholesale price index was recorded at 9.72 per cent in September, according to the latest official data. Inflation has remained almost near double digit since January 2010, despite an aggressive monetary tightening by the central bank and the claims of a series of fiscal measures by the government.
                  
However, the rate hike has shown its negative impact on the economic growth. Industrial production has slowed down considerably in the past few months. It was registered at a sluggish 4.1 per cent in August rising a bit from the 3.8 per cent seen in July — its lowest in almost two years. GDP growth slowed to 7.
                  
7 per cent in April-June period, the weakest in six quarters. With rising cost of inputs and high interest rates, industrial output is likely to remain subdued in the coming months. According to a recent survey by the Confederation of Indian Industry, business confidence, especially among smaller firms, has declined in recent months. The CII’s quarterly business confidence index has declined by 2.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2011-12 as compared to the previous quarter. source : IRN

The Assam real estate and Infrastructure Developers Association (Areida) on Tuesday urged the new government to reduce registration fees while selling or buying property and reduce the duty fees to promote real estate business in the state. The people of the state have to pay 8.5 per cent registration charges, the highest in the country. While the rate is five per cent in Mumbai, it’s only one per cent in Kolkata. “It’s disappointing that the registration fees are still pegged at 8.
                  
5 per cent. This is putting a lot of burden on people, particularly those belonging to the middle income group, planning to houses in the city. We hope that the new government will take some corrective measures,” Areida president P K Sharma said. The association has been seeking reduction in registration fees since the hike came into effect in 2007. It has even submitted representations to the then Guwahati development department minister seeking a cut-off in the rates. Sharma said chief minister Tarun Gogoi had in April ordered an investigation into the “abnormal rise” in prices of cement and iron rods.
                  
“But so far there’s no outcome,” the Areida president added. Gogoi had directed the chief secretary to get the probe done by a senior officer and find out if the price rise was artificial. The chief secretary was supposed to intimate the CM about the action taken by April 28. “The deadline is over, but not the investigation. It’s a matter of concern,” Sharma added.