Gujarat: Home loan disbursals rose to Rs 5,283 crore in Q2

AHMEDABAD: In what could imply an increase in house sales, disbursement of fresh housing loans across Gujarat rose by 46% to Rs Rs 5,283 crore for the quarter ended September 2020 from Rs 3,620 crore in the same period last fiscal, shows data released by the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC).

Compared to the preceding quarter of April-June, the surge in fresh housing loan disbursals works out to be 130% with a total of Rs 2,298 crore being disbursed in the quarter.

According to the SLBC, the total outstanding amount under housing finance by banks stood at Rs 92,195 crore by September as against Rs 76,280 crore in the same period last fiscal. The outstanding amount was Rs 89,818 crore in April-June 2020.


"Demand in the housing sector improved in the July-September quarter. People whose incomes have not been significantly affected during the pandemic have invested in the real estate sector. As a result, fresh disbursals for housing loans went up during the quarter," said M M Bansal, convener, SLBC, Gujarat.

Industry players also confirmed a significant uptick in housing sales during the September quarter.

"Housing has now become a social security. Sales improved across all segments such as affordable, luxury homes, farm houses and plotting schemes. Fence sitters also made the decision and bought residential properties," said Jaxay Shah, national chairman, The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI).

"Had the state government reduced stamp duty by 2%, fresh disbursals would have passed Rs 10,000 crore," he added.

According to real estate consultant Knight Frank India, residential sales were buoyant in August and September. The Ahmedabad market alone saw 1,176 housing units being sold in the July-September quarter against April-June of 2020.

Industry players attributed the improvement in housing sales to factors such as low interest rates on home loans, discounts from developers and fence-sitter deciding to buy homes in the July-September quarter.

Even non-performing assets (NPAs) declined during the second quarter. "NPAs are usually less in the home loan segment as home buying has a certain sentimental value attached to it.

Moreover, the Supreme Court has imposed a stay on banks from classifying accounts as NPAs, since September 4 this year. This coupled with people opting for the moratorium kept NPAs in check," said Bansal.