President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced new opportunities for the population and builders at a meeting on housing construction in Uzbekistan in 2024. This year, 22.5 trillion soums will be allocated for mortgage financing from all sources. Nearly 10 trillion soums will be allocated for mortgage lending, 2.3 trillion soums to cover down payments and interest for 20,000 low-income families.
Additional incentives will be created for construction and housing acquisition by the population. Contractors with a "satisfactory" rating will now be allowed to build five-story buildings, and for nine-story buildings, contractors with a "fairly satisfactory" rating will be permitted. President Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of quality in construction.
A "green" standard will be introduced in housing construction within two months, offering contractors with this standard a credit at a rate 1 percentage point lower, i.e., under 15% annually. The Entrepreneurship Development Company will allocate 200 billion soums to provide guarantees to contractors and partially compensate interest expenses.
The requirement for insurance on mortgage housing transferred for collateral will be abolished, allowing citizens to save around 5 million soums, stated Mirziyoyev. Families in the poverty reduction program residing in inadequate housing will be eligible for mortgage loans for construction and renovation up to 120 million soums, with the budget covering 15 percentage points of the loan and up to 6 points of the annual interest rate in the first five years.
The Mortgage Refinancing Company plays a crucial role in expanding access to mortgages. Over the past three years, its credit portfolio has exceeded 3 trillion soums. The company aims to increase its charter capital to $100 million, expand foreign funding sources. In 2024, the company plans to provide 1.2 trillion soums for mortgage refinancing and an additional 1.2 trillion soums with the Ministry of Finance and Economy for bank liquidity.
President Mirziyoyev highlighted the need to strengthen consumer protection in housing construction through setting minimum financial stability requirements for construction and contracting organizations participating in land auctions. He instructed regional governors to increase housing supply to prevent rising apartment prices by allocating additional non-agricultural land for construction.
In late January, Mirziyoyev mentioned that new housing in Tashkent costs up to 25 million soums per square meter, emphasizing the need for cadastral registration before issuing mortgages for apartment purchases. He tasked the creation of a Mortgage Support Fund and regulation of citizens' participation in housing construction projects.
The Central Bank reported a 4.4% increase in real estate transactions in Uzbekistan in 2023, attributing the high demand to the popularity of mortgages. New construction prices rose by 26.9%, while secondary market housing increased by 23%. Rental prices stabilized, decreasing by 1%.
