AMF Supports 17,374 Mortgage Loans in Amount of 702.4 Million Manats

By August 1, the volume of mortgage lending by the banks - agents of the Azerbaijan Mortgage Fund reached 702.4 million manats.

AMF was founded in late 2005, and in March 2006 it began to issue mortgage loans. Loans under the social mortgage were issued only in the first half of 2007.

According to the AMF, in this period it issued 17,374 credits.

Commercial mortgage loans are issued only in manats and only to Azerbaijani citizens for a period of 3 to 25 years with a maximum of no more than 50 thousand manats at a rate of not more than 8% per annum.

Social mortgage is financed from the state budget - the maximum size of 50,000 manats at a fixed rate of 4% per annum.

Last year, the volume of mortgage loans from the AMF funds was 97 million AZN (minus 14.1 million to 2013).

The Azerbaijani government intends to maintain the pace of housing construction by extending mortgage loans.

President Ilham Aliyev at a meeting of the government on 13 July  announced the allocation until the end of the year of 200 million manats for concessional lending and commercial mortgages. It follows that mortgage lending will increase four times in 2015. At the end of 2014 it was expected that the volume of mortgages will be 50 million manats.

Aliyev called priority mortgage finance of new buildings, and especially of housing under construction.

The government caught preferences of the citizens. According to the central bank, in a total 29 percent reduction in the volume of sale and purchase of property last year, the secondary market decreased by 33.4% to 1,326,727,000 manats, and the primary market grew by 22.9% to 186,295,000 manats. According to the Azerbaijan Mortgage Fund, 93% of mortgage loans are related to the purchase of housing in high-rise residential buildings, and the rest - in individual homes.

Reduction in the operations on purchase of real estate was particularly noticeable after the 35% devaluation of the manat in February this year. Banks have stopped first mortgages, and then 12 of the 29 banks increased the size of down payment more than twofold - up to 40-50% for commercial lending and 30-40% for social crediting.

Earlier, Finance Minister Samir Sharifov announced plans to increase the amount of the mortgage. "I think that the Central Bank will offer additional funds to strengthen the market and if it is necessary, the government will provide additional state guarantee," he said.

In turn, the Chairman of the Central Bank Elman Rustamov reported on preparation of a package of proposals which include increasing the amount of a mortgage loan for social and commercial mortgages, expansion of mortgage lending in the regions and others. -0-