RBC-Ukraine explains who can take out a mortgage for housing and how much money is needed for the down payment. This information is reported by Kontrakty.UA.
Who can benefit from the program and under what conditions
The "eOselya" program allows Ukrainians to purchase housing through a mortgage and repay it over a period of up to 20 years at a fixed interest rate. Starting from the end of 2024, this program will shift its focus from the secondary real estate market to new construction, as with "eOselya," most borrowers will now be able to buy properties that are less than 3 years old.
"This requirement regarding the age of the property will significantly enhance the attractiveness of real estate from developers, not only for completed buildings but also for those still under construction. This is confirmed by the activity of developers in accrediting their projects within the program," experts from LUN state.
Through this mortgage program, it is possible to buy housing in 195 buildings from 89 developers across Ukraine, as of early December 2024.
Who is eligible for the program:
- Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older;
- not older than 70 years at the time of repayment;
- financially capable;
- without their own housing, or if it is less than 52.5 m² + 21 m² for each additional family member (spouse and minor children; or if the housing is located in a combat zone or temporarily occupied territory);
- it is important that the individual is not listed in sanction lists and is not involved in other active state housing programs.
What are the loan conditions:
- preferential rate for the entire loan term - 3% (for medical workers, educators, military personnel, and researchers; for others - 7%);
- maximum loan term - 20 years;
- minimum down payment - 20%;
- participating banks in the program: Oschadbank, PrivatBank, Globus Bank, Ukrgasbank, Sky Bank.
The housing must meet the criteria listed below.
How much money is needed for the mortgage down payment
The amount of the minimum down payment required to purchase an apartment through a mortgage ranges from 4,000 to 18,000 dollars, depending on the city where the property is located.
Down payment amounts in different cities:
- Kyiv - 18,000 dollars (average housing cost under mortgage - 90,000 dollars)
- Lviv - 17,000 dollars (housing cost - 84,000 dollars)
- Uzhhorod - 11,000 dollars (housing cost - 55,000 dollars)
- Lutsk and Chernivtsi - 10,000 dollars (housing cost - 49,000 dollars)
- Dnipro - 10,000 dollars (housing cost - 48,000 dollars)
- Rivne - 9,000 dollars (housing cost - 47,000 dollars)
- Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Cherkasy - 9,000 dollars (housing cost - 45,000 dollars)
- Poltava - 9,000 dollars (housing cost - 43,000 dollars)
- Khmelnytskyi - 8,000 dollars (housing cost - 42,000 dollars)
- Odesa - 8,000 dollars (housing cost - 38,000 dollars)
- Zhytomyr - 7,000 dollars (housing cost - 36,000 dollars)
- Chernihiv - 6,000 dollars (housing cost - 29,000 dollars)
- Kharkiv - 6,000 dollars (housing cost - 28,000 dollars)
- Zaporizhzhia and Sumy - 5,000 dollars (housing cost - 23,000 dollars)
- Kropyvnytskyi - 4,000 dollars (housing cost - 18,000 dollars)
There is no data available on Kherson and occupied territories.
It is worth noting that LUN experts calculated these figures based on the average cost of apartments (already completed) that meet the criteria of the "eOselya" mortgage program.
Previously, we reported that Ukrainians spend between 15% to 84% of their salary on renting a one-bedroom apartment, depending on the city where the property is located. The highest rental costs are in Uzhhorod - 84% of their salary. Lutsk comes in second at 79%, and Lviv ranks third at 74%.
Also, read about how housing prices in new buildings have decreased in Ukraine. Over the past six months, prices have dropped the most in Zaporizhzhia - by 12%, Uzhhorod - by 11%, and Kharkiv - by 10%. In Lviv, real estate prices in the primary market have also decreased by 4%, with the current price for 1 square meter being 1,300 dollars - the highest in Ukraine.