Indian builders lure home buyers with free cars, gold

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NEW DELHI, Nov 4 (AFP): Indian builders hit by slipping profits are offering free cars and gold to kickstart once-booming demand but experts warn the gimmicks may not keep the housing industry afloat.
The gifts range from Toyota four-wheel drives to gold coins and foreign vacations.
"The response has been great," said Rajesh Kaul, international sales head of Jaypee Greens developers, which is giving away luxury automobiles with bungalows priced above 30 million rupees (600,000 dollars).
In one novel buy-one-get-one-free scheme, estate agent Cosmos is throwing in one-bedroom apartments with each bungalow sold in Mumbai's suburbs.
Smaller gifts include 50-gram gold nuggets (worth about 1,200 dollars) offered by SVP Builders in Ghaziabad city, while industry officials say family vacations to Europe or club memberships are also being used to tempt customers.
India's housing market was worth 12 billion dollars in 2005 and had been forecast to grow to 90 billion dollars by 2015. But it has felt the pinch since last summer when demand began dropping.
The crisis has deepened this year with high interest rates on home loans and double-digit inflation reducing property purchases by 20 per cent, according to official data.
And those who are still buying are on tight budgets.