Vipul sees slowdown, high rates impacting volumes

MUMBAI, July 1 (Reuters) - Real estate firm Vipul Ltd (VIPL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) sees demand slowdown and higher interest rates for home loans impacting sales volume this year, but hopes to make this up by focussing on mid-income apartments in the 3-4 million rupees range.

The New Delhi-based firm, which gets almost 80 percent of its revenue by selling residential apartments, said its sales volumes in major cities could slip by almost a quarter, pushing a drop in prices by at least 7-8 percent.

Vipul plans to raise 5 billion rupees in debt this fiscal for work at its projects, which include two townships and three hotels.

(Reporting by Prashant Mehra; Prem Udayabhanu)