Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her desire for inclusive housing development in Bangladesh, emphasizing that not only the wealthy should live in flats but also rickshaw pullers, daily labourers, and ordinary working people.  She shared these views today (11 May, 2024) while speaking at the 61st convention of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) held at its premises in Dhaka. The Prime Minister highlighted ongoing government initiatives aimed at providing flats for slum dwellers and low-income groups, including those traditionally marginalized such as sweepers, Harijans, and Dalits.  She mentioned that construction projects had already commenced to enable these communities to live healthy, dignified lives affordably. None can isolate me from people: PM Hasina tells JS Highlighting construction of houses for the landless and homeless under the Ashrayan project, the Prime Minister said that 334 upazilas of 21 districts have been declared free of landless and homeless families.  “Not even a single family in Bangladesh will be landless or homeless, that is our goal,” she said. The Prime Minister also spoke about leveraging the intellectual power of the people to build the nation and underscored the importance of embracing modern technologies, such as satellites and nuclear power, to avoid being left behind.  “It doesn't matter what this or that group says. My concern is whether people of my country are doing well, whether they are improving, whether their fate is changing,” the PM said. Prices have increased, but rural people are in better shape: PM Hasina In her speech, Sheikh Hasina reflected on the development achievements of her administration over the past 15 years, including significant increases in per capita income and the purchasing power of grassroots populations.  The Prime Minister affirmed her government's continued dedication to improving the lives of all Bangladeshis and advancing the country’s development agenda.

Banks and financial institutions in Bangladesh are offering long-term housing loans to customers, creating opportunities to become owners of property. Some institutions are even approving loans within 48 hours of receiving the customer's application. However, most banks and financial institutions thoroughly verify the identity of the customer and the quality of his or her employer before granting loans. As a result, the amount of default loans in this sector is less than in other sectors. The overall size of the total housing loans portfolio of all banks was Tk85,663 crore at the end of June 2022, up from Tk77,698 crore in June 2021, an increase of Tk7964 crore or 10.25 percent in one year. Also read: Best Home Loans in Bangladesh to Build Your Dream Nest Five banks have disbursed most of the loans in the housing sector in a year. Out of this, IFIC Bank disbursed Tk 1,812 crore, Agrani Bank Tk 1,102 crore, Islami Bank Tk1,190 crore, Sonali Bank Tk 463 crore and Janata Bank Tk 139 crore. President of Real Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) Alamgir Shamsul Alamin told UNB that the housing sector has created opportunity to become flat owner for service holders. Lower-middle income groups of people can dream to become a flat or plot owner jointly or individually in the housing sector, which is secured and a potential safeguard of hard earned money, he said. He is also managing director of Shamsul Alamin Real Estate Limited. “There is no accurate count of how many people have acquired flats with loan facilities,” he said. Read More: BBS thanks Walton for providing Tab in population & housing census Around 54,000 people have bought flats with loans from the financial institution Delta Brac Housing or DBH Finance. And the number of customers who bought flats or built houses with loans from IFIC Bank is 18,500. IFIC Bank Managing Director, Shah Alam Sarwar said, “We have achieved unprecedented success in housing loans. This financing is being done through our 1,200 branches and sub-branches.” There is no hassle to get a loan, no extra charges. As a result, eligible customers who come to take loans take it easy, he said. Banks are approving a maximum loan of Tk2.0 crore at the individual level to buy a flat. In this case, the ratio of bank loan and own money is 70:30. That is, to buy a flat of Tk1.0 crore, a client has to provide Tk30 lakh, and the bank finances Tk70 lakh. Read More: Delta Brac Housing Finance Corp. Ltd renamed as DBH Finance PLC On the other hand, there is no ratio in the case of loans to non-banking financial institutions. These institutions fix this ratio themselves. The maximum interest rate for housing loans from banks is 8 percent and interest from financial institutions is 12 percent. IFIC Bank, the first private sector bank started offering these loans at reduced interest rates. Even in early 2015, the bank was charging 11.95 percent interest against home loans, which was reduced to 9.99 percent in December 2015. At that time the interest rate in the banking sector was more than 15 percent. The IFIC Bank has a separate housing loan facility called 'Amar Bari'. The bank provides loans up to Tk2.0 crores for house construction and Tk35 lakhs for the construction of semi-finished buildings. Demand has been created among the people for housing loans. As a result, more than 1000 real estate companies have been established in the country. Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC) has also been established as a government initiative. Read More: IFC, BRAC Bank to launch Bangladesh’s first ever housing bond Apart from this, specialized financial institutions have been launched to provide loan facilities for the housing sector. As a result, people are able to own a flat with a loan along with their savings. Loans are also available for house construction. Institutions in the housing sector have now reached the capital and divisional cities as well as the district level. As a result, now, housing loans in Bangladesh have reached the district level as well. END/UNB/AI/ssk

Housing finance company Delta Brac Housing Finance Corp. Ltd. has recently changed its name to DBH Finance PLC. Managing Director and CEO of the company Nasimul Baten said the new name will give more recognition among the existing and prospective clients due to the Brand equity of DBH. Besides, the new name will be more aligned to the future business plans of the company, he said. Read:IBBL pays homage to Bangabandhu In April, 2022 the shareholders gave their consent to change the name of the company in a special meeting. Recently Bangladesh Bank gave their approval for this by issuing a circular. Since inception, DBH is continually working towards increasing home ownership in the country. Currently it has 13 branches in Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Cumilla, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Khulna, Rajshahi and it has disbursed in excess of Tk 13,500 crore to more than 52,000 families. DBH is the only financial institution of the country to obtain highest credit rating AAA for 17 consecutive years. Read Delta Brac Housing opens its 13 th branch in Rajshahi

Starting from March 2020, a series of lockdowns announced by the government to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Bangladesh has caused a collapse in the country's economy. It affected all kinds of large and small businesses. And real estate business is not a different case. The housing industry or construction sector plays a big role in keeping the wheel of the country's economy moving. There are about 458 sectors closely involved in this industry. The current Covid-19 disaster has brought the housing industry to a halt like other sectors. In the first and second quarters of 2020, the entire housing sector has come to a halt due to the lockdown for more than a month. Read:F-commerce in Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects However, the demand for apartments has increased due to lower interest rates on bank deposits and home loans. Many are now interested to buy apartments than renting them. Situation of the Real Estate Business in Bangladesh before Pandemic To understand the actual situation, we will have to go back to 2012. The recession in the housing sector started in 2012. In the next year, the housing business took a terrible shape because of the political unrest. During that time, many real estate companies were unable to find a client even after reducing the apartment prices. Furthermore, many buyers also canceled their bookings due to non-payment of installments. After that turbulent time, the real estate business situation was a bit better in 2016, but the crisis was yet to see an end. Read:ToguMogu: One Stop Solution for Bangladeshi Parents However, in the middle of 2018, it was announced to give home loans to government employees at 5 percent interest. The process of reducing the registration cost also started in 2019. As a result, the housing business was in a positive trend until Covid-19. Present Situation of Real Estate Market in Bangladesh Market observers say money is scarce for the common man. Medium businessmen and traders have also been affected by the corona. Even then, the demand in the housing sector is increasing. In this upward trend of demand, mainly government employees are in the driver's seat. They are buying flats and land using government loans and other facilities. Market observers say money is scarce for the general people. Read Best Home Loans in Bangladesh to Build Your Dream Nest Why does the Real Estate Industry See a Rise in Bangladesh? Government employees have been given housing loan facilities up to Tk 70-75 lakh. This facility has played a big role in the expansion of land and flat business, as claimed by the companies in the real estate sector. In addition, the approval of non-tax income investment announced last year has also played an important role in this regard. After the announcement of this opportunity, more than Tk 3,200 crore tax-free investments have come in the housing sector. In addition, measures such as 9% interest on home loans, reduction of land transfer tax rate from 2% to 1%, and reduction of stamp duty from 3% to 1.5% have also worked as a catalyst for the expansion of the sector. Read Angel Investment 101: Is It the Right Track for Your Startup?

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said the government will arrange housing for those losing their homes in flood and riverbank erosion alongside rehabilitating the landless and homeless people across the country.