Axis Bank introduces new home loan product for low-income group

Axis Bank today said it has introduced a new housing loan product – Asha Home Loan – for first time home buyers in the low-income segment. The 30-year home loan product will be offered to customers with family income of Rs 8,000-10,000 per month and above, the bank said in a statement today.

"We see tremendous potential in the affordable housing segment. The customer segment having lower level of income and aspiring to own their first house in the peripheral areas of tier I cities or within tier II and III cities has largely remained untapped. Asha Home Loan would help bridge this gap," Jairam Sridharan, head of consumer lending and payments at Axis Bank, said.

The new home loan product, available for both salaried and self-employed resident Indians, can be availed in both floating and fixed rate options with simple documentation. The customers can pool their family income instead of depending on their individual income only. The bank will provide loans up to 90% of the market value of the property.

The bank will offer loans as small as Rs 1,00,000 and up to Rs 15 lakh in towns with population of less than a million under this scheme. In larger towns, the bank will offer Asha Home Loan up to Rs 25 lakh.

As per industry estimates, there is an overall urban housing shortage of 19 million units, out of which more than 90 per cent of the demand is from the low-income group segment and below.

"The demand from this segment is largely towards smaller property configurations in order to meet their basic requirement of owning a house, and hence our product enables customers to purchase properties with an area measuring 325 square feet and above. Loans can be availed for new, resale, ready, under-construction property, as well as for purchasing a plot and constructing a house thereon," the bank said.