ArmInfo. The Armenian government softens the terms of the program "Affordable Housing for Young Families. The draft of the relevant decision of the Armenian government, which is expected to introduce some changes in the approved annex to the decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia N 98-N of January 29, 2010, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on September 14.
As the Minister of Finance of Armenia Atom Janjughazyan stated, according to the current procedure, a mortgage loan is granted at 10.5-11% per annum, of which 2% is subsidized by the state - regardless of where exactly housing is purchased. Today it is proposed to reduce the mortgage interest rate to the maximum 9.5% per annum in Yerevan and the regions of the country (on the secondary real estate market), of which 2% will be subsidized to purchase housing in the capital, and 4% in regions. The loan can be granted for at least 10 years, with a maximum maturity of 30 years. The government also proposes to increase the aggregate age of spouses from the current 65 to 70 years.
The document also sets the maximum cost of the purchased housing: in case of buying an apartment on the primary market (from the constructor), the amount will be 30 million drams, and on the secondary one - 25 million drams. At the same time, the maximum nominal mortgage rate for the acquisition of housing in the primary market will be 7.5%. In this case, a subsidy from the state is not provided. Deduction on income tax in the amount of interest from a mortgage can be used in this case. The next point of the proposed innovations relates to the prepayment, which today is 30% for "secondary housing" and 20% - for the primary market. If the project is approved, the upfront payment will be reduced to the "cherished" 20% and 10%, respectively. The issue, as the minister pointed out, will be solved by the introduction of the institute of prepayment insurance. "In other words, it will be possible to pay 10% of the cost of an apartment in cash and issue insurance for the difference," Atom Janjughazyan explained. The project also suggests applying the insurance of an existing mortgage obligation - at a rate of at least 50% of the prepayment. Moreover, if the abovementioned requirements met, the amount of the mortgage loan may exceed 20,000,000 drams. The requirement for insurance ceases from the moment when the loan / pledge ratio as a result of loan payments reaches 80%.
The pilot program was launched in 2010, on the basis of which the state program was launched. According to the data provided by the government, under the program, 19 financial organizations are currently involved in lending: 14 banks and 5 credit organizations. As of August 30, 2018, 3,466 loans (1814 loans in Yerevan and 1652 in the regions of Armenia) were issued with a total value of 28 billion 524 million drams (18 billion 401 million in Yerevan and 10 billion 123 million in the regions). Within the framework of the medium-term expenditure program for 2019-2021, according to the head of the Armenian Ministry of Finance, in 2019, 785 million drams are envisaged for the implementation of the program, but as a result of the new order coming into force, an additional 75 million drams will be required for its financing.
