Home loans may become tougher
Sidhartha
[ 28 Jan, 2007 0000hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
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DAVOS: Loan seekers, particularly in Delhi, may find themselves dealing
with cautious bankers, with ICICI Bank chief executive and managing
director K V Kamath saying his bank — the second largest in India —
would be more stringent in screening housing loans.
Expressing fears similar to those voiced by Reserve Bank of India and
HDFC chief Deepak Parekh, Kamath said property prices in certain pockets
of India were on the higher side. "Property prices in pockets could be
hot. Delhi is hot, Mumbai is not as hot," he said.
Tax breaks and low interest rates, in a market driven by the likes of
ICICI Bank and HDFC, have resulted in residential property prices in and
around Delhi rising at least three times during the last three years and
there are few signs of costs coming down.
cont'd....
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Home_loans_may_become_tougher_as_property_prices_go_up/articleshow/1488778.cms
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Demand and supply side checks needed in housing
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, JANUARY 01, 2007 03:19:27 AM]
The National Housing Bank (NHB) — the regulator for housing finance
firms — is now focusing on its development role in the housing market.
Spearheading this initiative is its chairman S Sridhar, a former banker
who cut his teeth in the country’s largest bank, SBI. Mr Sridhar, who
passed out from IIT, Delhi, was known for his innovations in Exim Bank
which he joined in 1984 and went on to become its executive director. He
joined NHB earlier this year.
What is your reading of the current developments in the domestic housing
market? Also, as a regulator of housing finance firms, how do you view
the concerns of an asset price bubble?
The housing market is poised at an interesting stage. The demand for
housing continues to be strong. Housing is a basic need and home
ownership appears to have been firmly implanted in the Indian psyche.
The continued growth in land and housing prices is a matter of concern.
It is creating another dimension level of the divide between the ‘haves’
and ‘have nots’. There need to be both demand side and supply side
interventions. On the demand side, RBI has already initiated steps to
moderate the flow of credit for housing through a menu of monetary
measures. Many other central banks have taken similar measures
cont'd....
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Finance__Insurance/Finance/Demand_and_supply_side_checks_needed_in_housing/articleshow/1003262.cms