Romania Govt Sets Home Purchasing Program Guarantee Budget At EUR700M This Year – Fin Min

The program will also try to stimulate the construction of new homes, especially for people partnering up in the building project, who will get a higher guarantee limit, of EUR75,000, Vladescu said.

„Those who partner up will benefit from a higher ceiling (in the program – e.n.),” he said.

Thus, the guarantee cap on loans to buy a newly built home will be of EUR70,000, while the cap for associations will be of EUR75,000, the minister added.

For the purchase of old homes, the cap might remain at EUR60,000, Vladescu said.

Prime Minister Emil Boc said Wednesday the guarantee ceiling for Romania’s government housing program will be kept at EUR60,000 for already built homes but will be raised to EUR70,000 or EUR75,000 for new homes.

The changes are subject to government approval next week.

Early January, the government decided that people sealing sale-purchase precontracts through the housing program before February 15, 2010 would benefit from state guarantees according to the current system, and teh program would be then changed to stimulate the purchase of new dwellings.

Last year, the government launched a program to support home acquisitions with a total budget of EUR1 billion. According to the current conditions, the state grants a guarantee of EUR60,000 at most to people wishing to buy homes using mortgage loans.

The Government has already reassigned for 2010 around EUR500 million from 2009’s unused guarantee funds.