Housing Finance Untapped Market

THE growth of the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) has been re-markable, even by the standards of institutions purveying finance. Its loan approvals in 1983-84, only its sixth year of operation, were Rs 103 crore, for 27,495 housing units, and its disbursements Rs 15 crore. Loan approvals showed a rise of 35 per cent over the previous year, disbursements of 57 per cent and the number of housing units approved for financ-ing of 41 per cent. The average cost of hous-ing units financed by HDFC in 1983-84 was, it would seem, around Rs 90.000 towards which the HDFCs contribution on average was Rs 39,000. The average gross monthly income