Increasing provisions on commercial real estate lending coupled with rising cost of construction material has cautioned the largest lender of the country, State Bank of India making it selective while lending to builders.

The bank has decided to restrict its exposure in this arena to only reputed buikders, said Mr J. Chandrasekaran, Chief General Manager, SBI while inaugurating a property fair in Chennai.

Talking about rising interest rates on home loans, he said there is an expectation for overall pressure piling up regarding housing demand and increased interest rates may deter it.

"We expect to disburse about Rs 2,400 crore of home loans by end of the current financial year," he said.