Bye, Bye Freebies. Hello, Value!

The Indian real estate market has been going through a slump for the last five-six years. However, some green shoots are visible now as many real estate developers are banking on the growth seen during the festival season of 2021 continuing into the new year. In the second half of last year, interest rates on home loans were at an all-time low, and developers sweetened home purchase deals with discounts and other offers during the festival season, ranging from electronic store vouchers of `1-3 lakh to home décor vouchers of `1 lakh. Some developers offered schemes like EMI holidays for a certain period, gold coins on purchase of flats, cash discounts and lucky draws on buying a property. The home loan rates continue to be low at the beginning of 2022 with the Reserve Bank of India keeping policy rates unchanged in the December monetary policy review. The future for the real...