APN: 1,220 Applications Received for Subsidized Housing Loans

The Agency for Legal Transactions and Real Estate Mediation (APN) has received 1,220 applications for subsidized housing loans from all ten credit institutions – banks with which contracts for providing subsidized loans have been concluded, it was announced on Thursday by APN.

– Yesterday, the first meeting of the APN commission was held, marking the beginning of the formal approval process for the applications, the statement said.

>>>APN Received 1,032 Applications for Subsidized Housing Loans

APN began accepting applications for subsidized housing loans on Monday at 7:30 AM, for which the state has allocated 17.5 million kuna in this year’s budget.

The Ministry of Construction and Spatial Planning announced at the end of last week that a larger portion of the total funds allocated for subsidizing housing loans, 75 percent, will be intended for the purchase of an apartment, while 25 percent will be for the purchase or construction of a house, with disbursement per individual bank limited to a maximum of 20 percent of the allocated funds.

The following banks are participating in the subsidization of housing loans: Hrvatska poštanska banka, Erste&Steiermaerkische banka, Podravska banka, OTP banka, Zagrebačka banka, Privredna banka Zagreb, Splitska banka, Karlovačka banka, Istarska kreditna banka Umag, and Raiffeisenbank Austria.

The lowest interest rate for loans in euros, at 3.04 percent, was offered by HPB, while PBZ offered the lowest interest rate for kuna loans, 3.35 percent.

Eligible applicants for subsidized loans are Croatian citizens under the age of 45 who, along with their partners, spouses, and informal life partners, do not own real estate, or who own only one property but are selling it to purchase a larger one.

>>>APN: More than 900 Applications Received for Subsidized Housing Loans in the First Hours

This measure will facilitate the repayment of the housing loan for the first four years, as the state will pay half of the monthly installment amount to the banks through APN.

Subsidized loans will be approved for the purchase of an apartment or house, or for the construction of a house, with a price including VAT not exceeding 1,500 euros per square meter. The price may be higher, but in that case, the difference will not be subsidized.