An exclusive index, NHB Residex, for residential property prices is being developed to bring transparency in property deals, says NHB Chairman S.Sridhar.

The National Housing Bank plans to launch a reverse mortgage scheme this year targeting senior citizens who can receive a secure income from their assets by availing of the scheme.

"We plan to unveil a reverse mortgage scheme for senior citizens by the year end," Chairman S. Sridhar told reporters.

NHB has prepared a draft on the scheme and submitted it to the Reserve Bank of India for its approval.

This product would be the first of its kind, he said.

NHB intends to support primary lenders such as banks and housing finance institutions (HFIs) to implement the product by providing refinance to primary lenders.

It also guarantees the obligation of primary lenders towards senior citizens.

"The scheme has been discussed with the banks and actual delivery would depend on them," he said.

Senior citizens, aged 62 or above, opting for reverse mortgages would get a steady income flow for 15 years against their home value.

The mortgage scheme would aim at monetising the value of the home owned by a senior citizen and the value would be done on the basis of the market rate.

The proposed scheme intends novel financial support in absence of social security for senior citizens.

The demand for housing will remain strong in India over the next 12 months but prices may come down in some big cities, the chairman of the regulator for housing finance companies said.

Mr S. Sridhar said: "The demand for housing will remain strong though there may be some downward adjustment in prices of housing units in some metropolitan cities in the medium term."

He expected house prices in smaller cities would continue to rise due to property shortages. NHB, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of India's central bank, estimates the overall housing shortage at 31.1 million units, particularly in rural India.

The apex regulator for home loan companies, is developing an exclusive index for residential property price.

"The index, to be known as NHB Residex, will bring transparency in property deals and benefit consumers," Mr Sridhar said.

A dedicated project aimed at developing such an index is on and a pilot study has already been carried out in the Delhi property market.