Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — In the first eight months of 2024, approximately 37,000 citizens received mortgage loans totaling 9.9 trillion soums, according to Nodir Komilov, head of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.

Reforms in Uzbekistan’s housing market are expanding opportunities for the population to secure housing, the Central Bank representative noted.

As per the presidential decree from 30 April 2024, several conveniences have been established to improve the mortgage lending system for the public:

If the cost of housing exceeds the maximum mortgage amount allocated under the state program—420 million soums in Tashkent and 330 million soums in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and other regions—citizens can now obtain mortgage loans from commercial banks under market conditions.

The requirement for mortgage insurance against risks when purchasing apartments in the primary housing market has been eliminated, allowing citizens to save an average of 4-5 million soums on insurance costs when purchasing apartments through mortgage loans.

Starting from 1 May 2024, mortgage loans under the program have been made available to citizens who are first-time borrowers. This, in turn, increases opportunities for those in need of housing to benefit from affordable mortgage loans using centralized funds.

In analyzing the mortgage loans granted to the population, 9.9 trillion soums were issued in the first eight months of the current year. As of 1 September, the outstanding balance of these loans stood at 63.6 trillion soums, which is 2.2 times higher compared to the beginning of 2021.

Of the mortgage loans allocated this year, 56% (5.6 trillion soums) are centralized funds, 33% (3.2 trillion soums) are the banks’ own funds, and 11% (1.1 trillion soums) are from the "Mortgage Refinancing Company."

Notably, due to the activity of commercial banks in the real estate market, the share of mortgage loans provided from banks’ own funds has been increasing each year. Specifically, in 2020, the share of mortgage loans funded by banks’ own resources was 22% (2.04 trillion soums), which increased to 34% (5.71 trillion soums) by the end of 2023.

Additionally, there is a continuing trend of growth in the volume of mortgage loans directed towards the secondary market. The share of mortgage loans provided for purchasing apartments on the secondary market grew from 3% (268.4 billion soums) in 2020 to 42% (7.077 trillion soums) in 2023.

Out of the total mortgage loans of 9.9 trillion soums allocated from January to August this year, 4.1 trillion soums, or 41%, were directed towards purchasing housing on the secondary market.

Thus, the support for providing mortgage loans to the population, along with the expansion of housing construction, contributes to effective reforms in the housing sector.

From 2020 to 2023, 328,000 apartments were built in the republic, and for 2024, the construction of 101,700 apartments is planned under the state program.

Over the last four years and in the current year up to eight months, commercial banks issued loans amounting to 7.5 trillion soums (of which 890 billion soums were issued this year) for the construction of 2,986 multi-apartment buildings with a total area of 145,500 apartments.

As of September 1, the total outstanding balance of loans allocated for the construction of multi-apartment buildings stood at 2.804 trillion soums, which is 2.5 times higher compared to the beginning of 2020, or an increase of 1.419 trillion soums.

Moreover, during a video conference chaired by the president on September 23 of this year, the task was set to create a guaranteed "escrow" system. This initiative will further contribute to the development of the housing market, particularly by providing construction projects with affordable resources, ultimately leading to a reduction in housing prices.

As a result of the efforts made in the real estate market, the level of housing provision for the population has significantly increased. Specifically, the household housing provision level (the number of housing units per household) rose from 94% in 2018 to 1.03% in 2023.

According to the State Statistics Committee, by the end of 2023, the total number of housing units in the republic is 7,476,000, while the number of households stands at 7,258,000.