SBI's latest and highly differentiated home loan scheme is an extremely good move and positive for the residential real estate sector as a whole.

It will certainly help attract homebuyers. The underlying provision of this scheme – that the bank commits to refund the principal loan amount if a developer fails to complete the project - will ensure that SBI remains highly selective in its approach and work only with the most reliable and trustworthy developers.

To mitigate the risk of having to issue refunds, it will also keep a regular check on the progress of the project and see to it that it is completed on time.

This will eventually give major assurance to all homebuyers who will opt for loans under this scheme from the SBI, and help in boosting their confidence.

The unique scheme has all the hallmarks of becoming a major success.

The scheme can be availed for projects where the maximum home price is up to INR 2.5 crore, and this will ensure that a large number of projects across all budget segments will get covered under it.