With vaccination drive already started in India, it seems like COVID-19 is flattening its curve resulting boost to the economy. In a recent development post-COVID-19, people have started buying their dream home again.

According to a report by Emkay Global Financial Services, systemic monthly mortgage disbursement in February has been at a high of Rs 75,000 crore as against Rs 40,000 crore average. This is mainly due to pent-up demand driven by benign rates, attractive property prices, low stamp duty (temporary though in Maharashtra) and change in customer behaviour to house ownership/bigger house size.

Among large players, SBI leads the pack with nearly 31 per cent market share in recent disbursements made in the mortgage segment, followed by the HDFC group at 19 per cent, ICICI at 13 per cent, BOB at 9 per cent and Axis at 7 per cent . Kotak has shown fresh aggression in line with management's guidance, with 3 per cent market share in home loan disbursements in February.

"We expect overall retail credit growth to accelerate further (currently 9 per cent YoY vs 15 per cent last year), led by mortgages (contributing 51 per cent of retail loans) and back-end support by unsecured (Cards/PL) and vehicle loans," the brokerage said.

(With inputs from IANS)