The Mortgage Financing industry was estimated approximately at US $ 18 billion in India. The mortgage industry is undergoing a change as the market is dominated by banks in the direct housing finance sector. Though the housing finance industry in India is growing for the past few years still financing through the organized sector continues to account only for 25% of the total housing investment in India .The top players in this industry are housing finance companies, commercial banks, cooperative banks and other non-banking financial companies . Presently Housing Development Finance Corporation is the market leader followed by State Bank of India . The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank and the Life Insurance Corporation Housing Finance Limited also have significant market share. The industry sources has reported that, 8 to 10 percent of the market share that foreign-owned banks have in the industry, Citibank has 5 percent share, followed by Standard Chartered and HSBC with about the 3 to 5 percent.
mortgage loan, the borrower begins with a large loan and lower equity in his house. In reverse mortgage however, the borrower has a very high equity in his house and a non-recourse loan secured by the home property. In the usual mortgage system, as the regular mortgage payments are made the outstanding loan decreases and the house equity increases. Reverse is the case in reverse mortgage, the loan amount increases with time and the home equity decreases with time.

The formal mortgage finance sector continues to elude the lower income groups. The twin problems of affordability and accessibility that hinder the progress of housing in South Asia need to be addressed. For this, governments have to withdraw from direct participation in the housing and housing finance sector and instead need take on the role as facilitators to create the enabling environment to encourage private sector capital. Further efforts of the government are required to strengthen foreclosure laws, land records need to be computerised and archaic land laws especially rental laws need a complete overhaul. Small steps such as encouraging credit bureaus, introducing mortgage insurance, allowing real estate mutual funds and creating a favourable environment to facilitate foreign direct investment in housing will help stimulate the housing finance sector. The road is long but not untenable.

The Creditor is an individual or institution who has legal rights to the debt secured by the mortgage and often makes a loan to an individual of the purchase money for the property. In terms of institutions, the creditor can be banks, insurers or other financial institutions. He maybe called as mortgagee or lender.The Debtor is the person who takes the mortgage loan from the creditor and must meet the mortgage conditions imposed by the creditor in order to avoid the creditor enacting provisions on the mortgage to recover the debt. Usually a debtor can be an individuals,landlords or businesses. The debt issued on the mortgage is also referred to as hypothecation which will use the services of a hypothecary to assist in the process. He is also known as mortgagor, borrower or obligor.