Banks provide booster dose for housing

AHMEDABAD: It���s one stimulus that has Gujarat charged up. The special housing finance scheme announced by public sector banks as part of a stimulus package has found a lot of takers in Gujarat ��� housing loan over Rs 1,000 crore has been sanctioned since the launch of the scheme in the state.
Latest data complied by State Level Bankers��� Committee (SLBC) shows that all public sector banks operating in Gujarat have so far sanctioned 17,909 applications, amounting to Rs 1,048 crore under this specialised scheme.
���Housing loans under the specialised scheme have gained momentum and this amount has been sanctioned in the last three months alone,��� said Mukesh Kumar Jain, general manager, Dena Bank, which is the SLBC convenor.
In order to boost the housing sector, the Central government had asked all public sector banks on December 15 last year to lower interest rates on home loans up to Rs 20 lakh under the specialised scheme.
Under the scheme, loans up to Rs 5 lakh are being offered at 8.5 per cent interest rate while loans above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 20 lakh are being offered at 9.25 per cent. Interest rates under the package are fixed for five years. Rates are subject to review beyond this period.
There were few takers when the scheme was launched as there was perception that real estate prices in the state may fall further. Besides, there was also the issue of availability of low-cost housing. With many realty developers shifting their focus from high cost housing to low cost units, demand for loan under this package has started moving up.
TCA Ranganathan, chief general manager, SBI, Gujarat, said demand for housing loan under the package is picking up. Besides, SBI���s special housing loan scheme at the rate of 8 per cent is also getting huge response.