HDFC disburses Rs 28-bn loans to 14k home buyers under urban housing scheme

Mortgage major HDFC has disbursed Rs 28 billion loans to 14,290 home-buyers under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Urban) so far, which entails a Central subsidy of Rs 3.02 billion.

The Modi government had launched the housing for all by 2022 in June 2015 and the disbursement is from that period.

While the lender has provided home loans worth Rs 17.28 billion under PMAW's credit-linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) to the economically weaker section (EWS) customers and low- income group (LIG), it has disbursed loans worth Rs 10.67 billion to 3,526 customers from the middle income group (MIG), it said in report on Tuesday.

The EWS comprises people with an annual household income up to Rs 0.3 million, while LIG include those with income greater that Rs 0.3 million and up to Rs 0.6 million.

Government launched its flagship PMAY(U) scheme on June 25, 2015 to provide housing for all by 2022. Since then, it has taken several steps such as inclusion of the MIG category under CLSS, increasing the loan tenure to 20 years, extending the MIG scheme till March 2019, increasing in the carpet area of houses under the CLSS for MIG, etc, to increase the scope of PMAY.

It also announced in the Budget 2018 that about 3.1 million homes are to be built in urban areas in FY19, and 5.1 million in rural areas.

"This has renewed the interest of homebuyers in the real estate sector and allowed first-time home-buyers to avail more benefits to own a house," said Renu Sud Karnad, managing director at HDFC.

HDFC had disbursed 39 per cent of home loans in volume terms and 20 per cent in value terms to customers from the EWS and LIG segment during the nine months to December 2017, said the report.

The lender on an average has been approving 8,000 loans on a monthly basis to the EWS and LIG segments, with monthly average approvals at about Rs 13 billion, it added.

In value terms, home loans to the EWS and LIG segments grew 32 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively, during the April-December 2017 period.

The average home loan to the EWS and LIG segment stood at Rs 1.024 million and Rs 1.738 million, respectively.

Till date 4,452 towns have been notified as statutory towns under the housing for all mission and properties located in these towns are eligible for subsidy, according to the report.