One of the country's largest housing finance companies, LIC Housing Finance—like several housing finance companies—is starting to witness an improved growth in its housing loan books, despite a property market that is still largely sluggish. Loan against property (LAP)—loans given by banks and other financial institutions against existing commercial or residential property of a borrower—has emerged as a high growth area for housing finance firms. It reported a 20 percent jump in net profit for the quarter ended March 2016.