Take It From Torbit: Rate Hike Puts Housing Under Strain In Festive Season; What Should Homebuyers Do?

With headline retail inflation expected to peak at 6.8% in November, another 25 bps hike is expected in the December monetary policy. SBI sees a 50 bps jump by December. Economists are of the view that by March 2027, we may well see a further hike of 50 bps, taking the total hike to 75 bps.

Impact Of Rate Hike On Home Loan Borrowers

Following the 25 bps rise in policy repo rate, standard floating-rate home loans across major Indian banks range from 8.40% to 9.50% per annum, depending on the lender, credit score of the home loan borrower and the loan amount. A home loan taker who borrows INR 50 lakh for 20 years will now have to pay about INR 1.9 lakh in additional interest over the loan period.

Strategy For Existing EBLR (External Benchmark Linked Rate)

The majority of the home loan borrowers are floating rate borrowers. They are particularly exposed to EMI pain because their interest rates are linked directly or indirectly to benchmark rates – repo rate. As such, any hike in repo rate quickly gets reflected in the EMI. Several banks have already revised their EBLR by 25 bps.

Such home loan borrowers should opt for an increase in EMI and not go for an increase in loan tenure, as it helps borrowers save a large amount of interest, closing their debt much faster. Paying a higher EMI to absorb the rate hike helps you to reduce the actual principal balance rather than simply servicing the extra interest. On the other hand, if you choose extended loan tenure, it drives up the cumulative interest paid to the bank over the life span of the home loan while you continue to pay the old EMI.

Further to reduce the compounding effect on interest, one should try to prepay a portion of the principal loan every year. Besides, those borrowers who enjoy exceptionally good credit scores should persuade their bank to reduce the spread charge (margin above the repo rate) to match the lower spreads offered by some other banks.

Strategy For New Home Loan Borrowers

In the event of a rising repo rate environment, the new home loan takers should keep the LTV (Loan to Value) ratio low – up to 70% – through a higher down payment. Before taking a plunge, they should first check their affordability. They should ensure that the total EMI outgo does not exceed 40% of their net take-home monthly income. The total EMI outgo is the EMI calculated on the basis of the actual repo rate hike plus another 1.5%. If it exceeds 40% of your carry-home income, you should either go for less expensive property or arrange for a down payment to keep EMI below the 40% take-home-salary benchmark, even if you have to delay your home purchase by a few months or up to a year for arranging the down payment.

Should You Buy Now Or Delay Your Home Purchase?

For end-users or serious homebuyers, it does not make sense to defer home purchases on the basis of a 25 bps repo rate hike and anticipated hikes in the coming months, as during the full loan tenure of 15-20 years, there are multiple periods of interest rate tightening and easing. If you have found a good residential property of your choice in terms of preferred price, location, infrastructure and connectivity, micro-market and desired lifestyle amenities, you should go for it. Especially if you get good rental income on this property.

Go For Bargaining In Festive Season

In this festive season, you can do hard bargaining with developers, as they would be under pressure to liquidate their inventory, which has been on the rise as sales of homes (particularly in the affordable and low-mid segments) have been declining. This is largely due to rising prices (3-17% price appreciation recorded this year across major markets). Housing sales dropped 6% across India's top 9 cities in Q3 2026. As a result of this, unsold inventory rose by 4% YoY, and it currently stands at 525695 units.

One may not see any slowdown in sales momentum in the luxury and ultra-luxury residential segment. As such, buyers of luxury/ultra-luxury homes will not be impacted by a 25-bps repo rate hike, as these buyers are HNIs and a major portion of their home cost is self-funded. However, the sale of homes in the price-sensitive segments may see considerable decline, as buyers may not get the inventory of their choice due to limited supply.

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