After six consecutive rate increases aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022, the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday kept key benchmark policy rate at 6.5 per cent even as inflation is trending above its tolerance level. While Governor Shaktikanta Das, however, said the RBI will “not hesitate” in taking further action on rates if needed, realtors heaved a sigh of relief. “If I have to characterise today’s monetary policy in just one line...it’s a pause, not a pivot,” Das told reporters.

“RBI’s decision to maintain the repo rate has been received well by the Indian real estate industry as it will not only accelerate housing demand and supply but also supplement sectoral growth overall,” realtors’ apex industry body CREDAI National President Harsh Vardhan Patodia said. This move will especially provide an impetus to affordable housing, he added.