The number of prospective homeowners applying for state facilities under a special housing scheme launched by Bank Melli of Iran as recently as January hit 26,000, BMI’s Public Relations Office announced.
BMI’s Housing Savings Account offers potential applicants two options based on investment and interest rates.
Under the first option, applicants acquire a priority bond for depositing 182 million rials ($4,333) in their account for a month, which fetches a loan worth 5 million rials ($119) with an interest rate of 17.5%, IBENA reported on Wednesday.
But the second option requires an investment of 223 million rials ($5,309) for each priority bond and its interest rate has been set at 12%.
Tehran-based applicants can receive as much as 600 million rials ($14,285), plus 100 million rials ($2,380) in home renovation loan, and couples are eligible for two loans.
The loan ceiling has been set at 800 million rials ($19,047) for applicants from provincial capitals and cities having a population of more than 200,000, and 600 million rials ($14,285) for other smaller cities.
Recipients face a 12-month repayment period for the principal loans and a maximum of three years for home renovation loans.
BMI was the first lender to join Bank Maskan in providing banking services to the housing sector after the sector’s top regulator, Central Bank of Iran, authorized it in 2015.
The latest data released by the Central Bank of Iran indicated that Tehran experienced the highest increase in home prices, as they marked a year-on-year rise of 30% during the first month of the current fiscal year to April 20.
