Gujarat has shown a dramatic increase in home loan disbursals in the fiscal last ended (2009-10) as against 2008-09. The home loan offtake has been as much as 61% for FY 09-10 although loan accounts have shown only 13.39% rise in the same period.

The last fiscal witnessed fresh loan disbursal by member banks of the State-Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) to the amount of Rs3,786.74 crore to 52,307 applicants, against Rs2,344.42 crore to 46,130 applicants in FY 2008-09, thereby pointing a rise of Rs1,442.32 crore.

The rise in the number of home loan accounts has been by 6,177 only in 2009-10.

"Though prices in Ahmedabad are believed to be lower in comparison to other cities such as Bangalore and Pune, Amdavadis do not find it cheaper any more," said Deepak Patel, secretary of Gujarat Institute of Housing and Estate Developers (GIHED).

"People were reeling from global turmoil and hence quite apprehensive of borrowing money. However, with the economic situation improving, demand in the mid and higher segment of housing has also improved. People have stretched their budgets by around Rs5 lakh. Those who were buying home in the range of Rs20-25 lakh, have started buying home ranging around Rs30 lakh," said Mukesh Kumar Jain, general manager of Dena Bank and convener of SLBC.

"With standard of living going high, customers are showing willingness to pay more rather than compromise on design, elevation, location, construction quality and other aspects," said Patel.

Chief general manager of the State Bank of India, Gujarat circle, P Nanda Kumaran, says, "In Gujarat, 80% applications for home loans are for houses costing less than Rs30 lakh. Of it, 20% demand is for houses for weaker sections. Even today, people are buying houses for less than Rs5 lakh in suburban areas of Ahmedabad and other rural areas. The demand for premium houses, costing more than Rs30 lakh, is very low in Gujarat."