The housing loan ceiling will be raised to one billion rials ($33,000) next year from the present 800 million rials ($26,400), as the Money and Credit Council has indicated its agreement with the move, said Abbas Akhundi, Minister of Roads and Urban Development.
The loans will be in the framework of the special Housing Savings Account which allows banks to provide first time homebuyers with low-interest mortgages -- an initiative aimed at stimulating the sluggish housing market.
Asked about the best and efficient way to revive the recession-plagued housing sector, Akhundi reiterated the need and importance of establishing special housing savings funds.
"The deposits provide banks with the liquidity for making housing loans. Deposits also help households manage their spending judiciously," he was quoted as saying by akhbarbank website.
Pointing to the Housing Savings Account, he said 20,000 people have so far opened savings accounts, depositing a total of 4 trillion rials ($132 million) which heralds progress of the initiative.
Also speaking at the 21st Press Exhibition in Tehran, Akhundi informed the media of the French investors' interest in Iran's real-estate market. He said his ministry has proposed lucrative housing schemes to the French whose involvement in the key sector could begin as soon as sanctions are removed by early 2016.
