Since the current fiscal began on March 20, 2017 until the end of the penultimate month ending Feb. 19, a total of 28,318 loans aimed at purchasing homes were allocated to applicants from the Housing Savings Account, which the agent bank of the housing sector equates to real market demand.
The rial value of the allocated loans stood close to 20.3 trillion rials ($423.78 million), HIBNA, the official news portal of Bank Maskan, reported.
HSA is aimed at enhancing the purchasing power of first-time homebuyers and currently offers the lowest interest loans–9.5% and 8% for distressed urban areas–for buying residential units. The initiative requires applicants to make a deposit of 400 million rials ($8,350) and wait for a year to become eligible for double that amount in loans, according to Financial Tribune.
Couples will be jointly eligible for 1.6 billion rials ($33,400) in facilities in Tehran.
Loans for applicants residing in provincial centers are capped at 600 million rials ($12,525) for individuals and 1.2 billion rials ($25,050) for couples, and at 400 million rials and 800 million rials ($16,700) in cities with populations higher than 200,000 people.
The HSA initiative also grants loans for the construction of residential units. During the first 11 months of the current year, a total of 1,185 such loans worth more than 750.63 billion rials ($15.67 million) were allocated.
A total of 94,030 applicants have become homeowners through Bank Maskan’s loans offered by way of housing bonds amounting to more than 40.75 trillion rials ($850.73 million). These loans have been defined for applicants that wish to receive facilities in the shortest time possible and without making a deposit in HSA.
In the same period, a total of 5,081 loans not requiring deposits aimed at building homes were handed out to applicants in distressed urban areas and others living in dire conditions, such as people in quake-hit areas. The value of these loans amounted to more than 1.54 trillion rials ($32.15 million).
During the 11th month alone, a total of 4,956 HSA loans were doled out with a total worth of more than 3.98 trillion rials ($83.1 million) to potential first-time homebuyers.
Home builders received 172 loans from the HSA initiative while 2,567 loans not requiring deposits were handed out in distressed areas. A total of 8,862 applicants bought residential units using housing bonds during the month, bringing the total value of the bonds to more than 4.52 trillion rials ($94.36 million).