Decline in interest rates unlikely to boost affordable housing

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM SAYS a cut in interest rates should be a big booster for affordable housing as the segment is highly rate-sensitive.

- RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH

But the reality may be different.

That's because of poor connectivity and lack of social infrastructure in the areas where affordable housing projects can come up. Take Shankar Dube, 54, who works as a driver in Mumbai's Breach Candy area, who regrets that he sold his 200 sq ft hutment in Dadar and shifted to Dahanu near Mumbai in a one-bedroom apartment of 400 sq ft two years ago.

"We have to travel five kilometers to see a doctor and go to the next town to see a dentist," Dube said. If that is not enough, he has to travel two-and-a-half-to-three hours one way from Dahanu to Breach Candy. "I am thinking of quitting the job and going back to my native place as it is becoming very difficult," Dube said.