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The state secretary said 3,000 Home Start loans had already been disbursed and a further 14,000-15,000 applications by people who had already signed a contract of sale were being processed.
He added that 8,000-10,000 potential borrowers had contacted lenders for pre-clearance or preliminary appraisal. Around 80pc of applicants are under the age of 40, and their average age is 34-35, he said. The average Home Start application is for HUF 33 mln-34 mln, he added.
About 90% of applications are for resale homes. Between 33% and 38% are for homes in Budapest and environs. Panyi said that the ratio of first-time buyers among home transactions in the capital had risen from 12%-15% to 30%-40% as a result of Home Start.
He added that the scheme was being beefed up with the involvement of the Hungarian Banking Association, highlighting recently announced measures that would allow siblings to co-sign for loans and mortgages to be taken out for flats that were in the process of being built.
He added that developers had applied for the accelerated issue of permits for projects with 37,000 homes eligible for the subsidized credit.
The scheme, which offers 3% fixed-rate loans for homes priced up to HUF 1.5 mln/sqm, is expected to drive the construction of at least 50,000 homes in the coming five years, Panyi said.
Levente Kovács, the chief secretary of the Hungarian Banking Association, said “intensive talks” with the government had preceded the launch of the program.
He added that “significant competition” related to the program had emerged on the banking market.
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