The findings highlight how the housing market, one of the biggest employers in a country of around 1.4 billion people, is likely to remain a stable contributor to growth in Asia's third-largest economy going forward. Relatively modest interest rate risk partly explains why all but one of 10 analysts who answered an additional question said the chances of a significant slowdown in the housing market over the coming year were low. Nine of 11 respondents said either an economic slowdown or rising rates would be the biggest challenge for first-time homebuyers. "While India ... has been quite resilient amidst global disturbances, the chances of a slowdown in India cannot be ruled out," said Anuj Puri, chairman of ANAROCK Property Consultants. (For other stories from the Reuters quarterly housing market polls:)Reporting by Milounee Purohit and Indradip Ghosh in Bengaluru Polling by Maneesh Kumar Editing by Hari Kishan, Ross Finley and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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