Annual Report 2003-2004

Housing & Related Issues

Housing continues to be one of the thrust areas of the economy for the policy makers. Rising income levels coupled with increased rate of formation of new households has contributed to a steady growth in demand for housing. Added to this is a significant shift in home-ownership pattern with younger population striving to acquire their own houses. This phenomenon of early purchase has resulted in increased demand for housing loans. Policy interventions by the government during the last few years have been significant which included measures to tackle housing problems of rural areas as reflected in the budget pronouncements of the Government of India.

The flow of credit in the housing finance sector continued to show steady growth. The disbursements towards housing finance by the Commercial Banks and Housing Finance Companies registered a growth of 29.25% with total disbursements of Rs.53, 678.62 crore during 2003-04 as compared to Rs.41, 385.38 crore during 2002-03. The continuing boom in housing sector is reflected in the substantial increase witnessed in the direct housing finance disbursements by the commercial banks for the third consecutive year. During the year commercial banks disbursed housing finance of Rs.32, 816.39 crore as against Rs. 23,553.37 crore in 2002-03, thereby registering a growth of 39.33%. During 2003-04, the aggregate housing finance disbursed by HFCs was Rs.20, 862.23 crore as against Rs.17, 832.01 crore in 2002-03 thus registering a growth of 16.99%.