Lower home loan rates are now easier to attain, all you have to do is buy into the clearance sales that builders are holding, reports CNBC-TV18.
Do not let higher interest rates bog you down from buying the dream house you may have always wanted. Builders are coming to the rescue.
Sources say that several builders in the past one month have been approaching banks to offer lower interest rates to new home loan borrowers.
The rack rate for a Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) 5-10 year floating rate home loan is anywhere between 9.5 to 10.5%, but banks like ICICI had tied up with builders and offered a fixed rate of 7.99% for the first three years.
So how does it work for ICICI?
The builder pays the bank the difference between 8% and the 10.5% rate upfront in cash. The ICICI Bank scheme ended in August.
Now builders have approached State Bank of India, which is also a big player in home loans, but the SBI management hasn't yet agreed to these offers from builders as they are not sure whether they would be able to accept money from builders in cash, in lieu of the borrower.
They fear parliamentary questions. But builders aren't daunted. They are approaching other banks like IDBI, HDFC and Kotak Mahindra for this particular scheme which is popularly called subvention.
Some builders who are interested in offering such schemes are Nirmal Builders, Royal Palms, Ekta Housing, Evershine Builders and the list goes on.
Builders are eager to subsidise home loan rates as they have too much unsold stock, which they are unable to sell because of rising home loan rates and high property prices. And more such schemes are likely to hit the market once festive season begins.
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