When Sanjay Kapadia, a Mumbai consultant, took out a mortgage on a flat in August, he opted for a variable rate to avoid the high charges attached to fixed-rate loans. It proved to be an unlucky choice.

Starting in December, the central bank began tightening interest rates. The average mortgage, already inflated by big rises in property prices, became 250 basis points more expensive, an increase of more than 20 per cent in the space of five months. “I pretty much got hit with a double whammy. I paid 50 per cent more than an apartment would have cost previously and I got hit with higher rates. Now even a 25 basis point jump hurts,” he said.