{
  "id": 5070849,
  "title": "India’s Home-Loan Growth Shifts Beyond Metros As Digital Lending Expands In Smaller Cities",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/indias-home-loan-growth-shifts-beyond-metros-as-digital-lending",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-02T10:26:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/indias-home-loan-growth-shifts-beyond-metros-as-digital-lending-expands-in-smaller-cities"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "India's home loan growth is projected to surge from smaller cities, as digital lending takes off. According to a report by advisory firm SGA PR, 92% of housing-finance applications will be processed digitally by 2024. Housing finance firms in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities represent 64% of home loan volumes, with an 81% year-over-year growth in 2025. In 2020, only 60% of housing-finance applications were processed digitally, indicating the rapid adoption of digital channels. Despite the shift towards digital lending, housing finance remains less digitized compared to unsecured lending, with physical verification and manual processes still playing a crucial role. The report attributes the growing significance of smaller cities and towns in India's housing demand to factors such as rising incomes, infrastructure development, urbanization, employment creation, and the affordability gap in major metros. Rahul Jain, CEO of SGA PR, believes that technology can help address friction in discovery, documentation, and underwriting during the next phase of housing finance. Amit Prakash Singh, Co-Founder & Chief Business Officer of Urban Money, highlights how digital tools facilitate eligibility assessment, borrower-lender matching, and streamlined documentation. The report predicts that digital sourcing will reach 70% by 2030, with AI-driven underwriting potentially becoming standard across the lending process. To make formal credit more accessible and transparent, housing finance is expected to combine digital infrastructure with strong advisory and on-ground support, particularly in smaller cities.",
  "summary": "New Delhi: India’s next home-loan growth wave is expected from smaller cities as digital lending gathers pace with 92 per cent of housing-finance applications processed digitally by 2024, a report said on Wednesday. The report from advisory firm SGA PR said nearly 42 per cent of housing finance firms now see the majority of enquiries coming digitally. Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities account for 64 per…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}