The recent repo rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India, which total 50 basis points this year, may help homebuyers by reducing loan interest and stretching budgets by around 5%.
While this is helpful, it is unlikely to bring a big change to the real estate market.
The main problem is not interest rates—it’s job and income uncertainty. Many people are unsure about their job future, especially in office jobs.
Some mid-level managers at different companies say, there are no major layoffs, but many vacant jobs are not being filled. Instead, companies are asking current staff to do more work, often with the help of AI.
AI is slowly reducing the need for new workers. Hiring is on hold in many places, and this is making people nervous about spending large amounts of money.
Because of this, even though loans are cheaper, people are not confident enough to buy homes.
Until job security and income growth improve, AI-related changes in the workplace may keep buyers away — despite the RBI’s effort to boost the market with rate cuts.
