Q1-3 Housing Loans Hit $1.12b

According to Mahmoud Shayan, Bank Maskan’s managing director, construction loans accounted for the lion’s share of the financial facilities during the period and a total of 44,250 billion rials ($192 million) were paid for the construction of 44,297 residential units across the country, which show a year-on-year increase of 46.7%.

“A total of 100,000 repair loans worth 32,800 billion rials [$142 million] were also paid during the period. In addition, 78,722 households managed to purchase homes using Bank Maskan loans either in the form of bonds or Housing Saving Account mortgage loans,” Shayan was quoted as saying by Hibna.

The HSA scheme requires applicants to make an initial deposit (400 million rials or $1,739) and wait out the one-year maturity period for credits with a ceiling of 800 million rials ($3,478), plus the depositor’s down payment, in the capital Tehran. 

In towns with a population of over 200,000, the cap on the loans is at 600 million rials ($2,608). Buyers in towns with a population of under 200,000 can apply for a maximum 400 million rials.

The Central Bank of Iran recently accepted Bank Maskan’s proposal on amending one of the requirements concerning Housing Saving Account mortgage loan, according to Mohammad Hassan Moradi, an official with Bank Maskan. 

“Prospective home-buyers can now take out loans on homes older than 20 years. Previously, HSA loans were only made to homes that were below 15 years. This will improve the buying power of loan applicants, thanks to the higher number of homes older than 20 and their relatively cheaper prices,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.  

The bank’s official noted that the date on which the construction permit of a property was issued—and not the date on which the construction was completed—serves, Mehr News Agency reported.

Growth in Q2 Construction Permits 

The Statistical Center of Iran recently published its latest figures concerning building permits issued in Tehran as well as throughout the country’s urban areas during the second quarter of the current fiscal year (June 21-Sept. 21, 2020).

Municipalities across the country issued permits for 137,431 housing units across Iran’s urban areas in Q2 (summer), indicating a 34.5% increase compared with the previous quarter and a 39.3% growth compared with the corresponding quarter of last year. 

The average number of residential units per permit across the country was 2.8. The average floor area of residential units per permit was 524 square meters. 

A total of 13,822 homes are expected to be built as a result of the permits issued by Tehran Municipality in Q2, to register a quarter-on-quarter growth of 7.8% but a year-on-year decline of 4.9%. 

In Tehran, the total floor area of units in buildings stood at 2,426,000 square meters, registering a 6.4% growth QOQ but a 9% decline YOY. 

The average number of residential units per permit in the capital city was 7.6 while the average floor area of units per permit in the capital city was at 1,334 square meters.

The process of issuing building permits in Tehran during the third quarter of the current year (Sept. 22-Dec. 20) has been fast tracked compared with Q1 (March 20-June 20) and Q2 (June 21-Sept. 21) of the current year but the number of issued building permits still shows a 20% decline compared with Q3 of last year, the head of Construction Engineering Organization of Tehran Province, Saeed Saeedian, said recently. 

The number of construction permits issued in Q1 and Q2 was 55% and 38% fewer than in the corresponding periods of last year, he added. 

“The rise in prices of building materials, general inflation and increase in land prices and the fact that most construction workshops were closed or semi-active due to the outbreak of coronavirus gave rise to the unusual state of housing sector this year. The recession that has engulfed real-estate development is evident in the number of construction permits,” Saeedian said.