Romania allots RON 2.5 bln for First House program

The Romanian state will give guarantees of RON 2.5 billion (EUR 554.6 million) for this year’s First House program, reports local Profit.ro. Individuals who plan to purchase new homes with bank loans, which have been completed in the last five years, will continue to receive state guarantees that cover half of the loans’ value. The loans for new homes amount to maximum EUR 66,500. Those who want to get loans for houses that are more than five years old will get guarantees amounting to 40% of their value. In this case, the maximum loan value is EUR 57,000. The rules are different compared to previous years, when the state guarantees covered half of the loan’s value regardless how old the house was. The state initially allocated a ceiling of RON 2.94 billion (EUR 652 million) for the first house program last year, but later supplemented the program. In the first eleven months of 2016, the state granted almost 33,000 guarantees worth RON 3.1 billion (EUR 688 million). Based on these guarantees, local banks granted some RON 6.2 billion worth of mortgage loans. editor@romania-insider.com