Is the Indian Housing Finance Industry Keeping Pace with Changing Demographics?

India features amongst the world’s most promising economies, with a slew of factors fuelling its growth story. The average age of an Indian hovering around 30 and the global outlook of this young population are definite drivers behind the past decade’s upbeat consumer trends, global corporations across sectors flocking to the country to leverage the potent Indian talent base, and international brands trying to reach out to customers even in the Tier-II and III towns of India.Interestingly, this global outlook has not been at the cost of local and regional attributes this young populace identifies itself with. Take, for instance, celebrating Durga Puja attired in international lifestyle brands in the midst of a pandal that serves both puchkas and doughnuts, or Ferrero Rocher chocolates being accepted in the fare ofmithais.This unique attribute of the Indian customer is also well reflected in his investing patterns. While the larger investing base straddles traditional and modern instruments alike in building a robust portfolio, real estate and gold feature high on his list of assets. In fact, besides a life insurance policy, a piece of land or a house is the first large investment that every Indian makes—sometimes, nowadays, as early as at 25 years of age.