bengaluru indian house prices will rise this year and next at a faster pace than predicted just three months ago supported by the economic recovery from the pandemic according to a reuters poll of property analysts once a bright spot in indias economy the housing sector was struggling even before covid19 but unlike most other major world property markets it has remained in the doldrums throughout the pandemic average house prices rose only 25 last year according to reuters calculations based on the reserve bank of indias house price index that compares with doubledigit gains in nearly every other property market but as asias thirdlargest economy gets back on track the housing market was expected to pick up pace the feb 928 poll of 13 property analysts predicted national house prices to go up a median 50 this year an upgrade from the 375 expected in a december survey average house prices were expected to rise 70 next year and in 2024 partly driven by increasing input costs for new homes as oil prices were expected to rise further as the russiaukraine crisis worsens the third wave of the pandemic has apparently not dented business confidence and investors appear mostly unperturbed this time we expect a rise in prices over next two years provided no major socioeconomic disruptions occur said arvind nandan managing director of research at savills india nearly threequarters of respondents or 8 of 11 to an additional question said the indian housing market would become a buyers market in 2022 the housing market is already a buyers market and the pandemic further increased this trend in 2020 and 2021 with consumer preferences largely tilted towards ready homes or those nearing completion said anuj puri chairman at anarock property consultants the indian real estate sector is expected to account for 13 of indias gdp by 2025 according to niti aayog the official public policy advisory to new delhi construction which has traditionally been a major employment generator for the largely unskilled labour force in india received a special allocation in the february budget however there was no clear consensus among analysts if the allocated 63 billion would be enough to boost affordable housing five of 10 respondents said it would help the rest said it would not for the time being monetary policy is also helping the reserve bank of india held on to its accommodative stance at its february meeting for the 11th consecutive meeting and kept its repo rate at a record low of 400 a separate reuters poll showed the rbi would start raising rates next month with the repo rate reaching 475 by the end of the next fiscal year endmarch 2023 the median response to a separate question showed the repo rate would have to rise to that rate by the end of december this year to significantly slow the housing market forecasts ranged between 450 and 500