Reflecting the increased demand for homes, HDFC Ltd has approved retail home loans of over ₹2-lakh crore during the period April 1, 2021 to March 21 this year, which is the highest ever in a financial year. “The demand for these loans have been from across the country,” HDFC said in a statement on Wednesday.
Its thrust on digital initiatives and inherent demand for housing helped to get back to normalcy faster than expected and has been instrumental in achieving this milestone of ₹2-lakh crore, it further said. “Today, over 89 per cent of the retail loans are sourced online up from less than 20 per cent before the Covid-19 pandemic,” it said.
‘Pent up demand’
Renu Sud Karnad, Managing Director, HDFC Ltd said the sweet spot for housing is still in the price range of ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore. “The residential real estate segment will continue to see strong traction going forward as the demand for housing is not just pent up demand but it is a structural one,” she further said.
The demand for housing continues to be from first-time homeowners as well as those moving up the property ladder – generally into larger homes. The mortgage financier is seeing healthy demand across metros and non-metros, and demand is prevalent in affordable as well as high-end markets. Affordable housing will continue to be the driving force behind the real estate sector in India, HDFC said.