In the morning, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a meeting on the network of actions implemented for the acquisition of a first home and the upgrading of the housing stock, with the new programs at the forefront “My house 2” and “Upgrading my Home”, co-funded by the Recovery and Resilience Fund.
During the meeting, it was decided to implement two further facilities for those who apply to participate in “My Home 2”.
First, in order to expand the scope of beneficiaries, not only citizens who met the income criteria in 2023, but also those who met them on average over a three-year period, will be eligible. In this way, households that have managed to increase their income will not be excluded, while in the big picture they belong to the social groups targeted by the housing acquisition programs.
Second, in the new program the pre-approval that each applicant receives in the early stages will not expire a few months later, but will remain in effect until the available resources are exhausted. In this way, the objection process will not be needed and all interested parties will have the maximum possible time to finalize the signing of the home purchase contract.
“Following the great success of the first “My House” program, through which more than 9,000 of our fellow citizens will be able to acquire their own home by essentially paying a lower mortgage installment than they would pay for a rent for a similar home, ” we are building” and we are launching the “My Home 2″ program, with 2 billion euros in total resources”, noted the Prime Minister.
“The program will start from the beginning of January. We estimate that around 20,000 of our fellow citizens will benefit, and I believe that it constitutes a very important pillar of the government’s overall policy to deal with the housing crisis”, Kyriakos Mitsotakis added.
50% of the loan will be interest-free and will be financed by the Recovery Fund. The remaining 50% of the amount will come from a low-interest bank loan. For those with three children and those with many children, the distribution is 75% interest-free and 25% interest-bearing.
Compared to the previous program, the upper age limit is increased by 11 years, as “My Home 2” will cover beneficiaries aged 25 to 50, while the income criteria are also expanded. Specifically, eligible singles must have an annual income of up to 20,000 euros, while previously the limit was 16,000 euros. The limit amounts to 28,000 euros for a couple, compared to 24,000 euros in the first program. The increase for each child is 4,000 euros, i.e. 1,000 more than before.
Greater provisions are also provided for single-parent families. The income limit now increases to 31,000 euros, i.e. it is 4,000 higher compared to the first program, and additional 5,000 euros are provided for each child beyond the first, while until now the corresponding increase was 3,000 euros.
The new interest-free loan program “Upgrade my Home” was also discussed, through which it will be possible to finance many energy upgrades of primary and secondary residences, such as thermal insulation, window replacement or the installation of a solar water heater.
“We are talking about 400 million euros, up to 25,000 euros interest-free loan – I repeat, interest-free loan -, with a repayment period from 3 to 7 years, for energy upgrade costs of the houses, without substantial income criteria and very easy to disburse”, stressed the prime minister.
“I estimate that there will be a very high demand for this program as well. And this program will start running from the beginning of next year and will, obviously, complement the other programs, such as “Renovate – Rent”, which have one main purpose: to be able to put more closed houses on the market, more closed apartments, through subsidizing the process of energy upgrading and renovation of these closed houses. And, obviously, our roof policy doesn’t just end there. I want to emphasize the very great importance we attach to the institution of social compensation”, said Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
During the meeting there was also an overview of the wider effort to create a new, holistic roofing policy, from the purchase side to the repair or construction side.
With regard to “My Home 1”, it was pointed out that the program was put into practice only three months after its enactment and the final affiliations finally reached 9,155, with the disbursements of the relevant loans now exceeding 7,100. 81% of the credits were granted to beneficiaries with an annual income of up to 24,000 euros.
At the same time, the improvement of the terms of the “Renovate – Rent” program and the launch of social compensation were noted.
The Prime Minister’s full statement:
“We had the opportunity today to do a comprehensive overview of the housing programs from the Recovery and Resilience Fund. I am referring to the My Home 2 program and the Upgrade My Home program.
After the great success of the first “My House” program, through which more than 9,000 of our fellow citizens will be able to acquire their own home by essentially paying a lower mortgage installment than they would pay for a rent for a similar home, “we are building ” and we are launching the “My Home 2” program with 2 billion euros in total resources.
Half of the funds come from the loan arm of the Recovery Fund. I want to congratulate the entire staff of the Ministry because we succeeded and achieved this funding through a tough negotiation.
The “My Home 2” program has already attracted a lot of interest from many of our fellow citizens, who see the possibility of making their dream come true, i.e. owning their own home at a very reasonable mortgage cost.
The program will start from the beginning of January. We estimate that around 20,000 of our fellow citizens will benefit and I believe it is a very important pillar of the government’s overall policy to tackle the housing crisis.
A housing crisis that I want to remind you is not only a Greek problem, it is a European problem. Greece now, as it enters a trajectory of rapid development of our economy, is also experiencing the consequences of rising real estate prices.
I also want to add the very great importance of the “Upgrading my Home” programme, it is the second leg of the Recovery Fund co-financed housing programmes. We are talking about 400,000,000 euros, up to 25,000 euros interest-free loan – I repeat, interest-free loan – with a repayment period of 3 to 7 years for energy upgrade costs of the houses, without substantial income criteria and very easy to disburse.
I estimate that there will be a very high demand for this program as well. And this program will start running from the beginning of next year and will, obviously, complement the other programs, such as “Renovate – Rent”, which have one main purpose: to be able to put more closed houses on the market, more closed apartments, through subsidizing the process of energy upgrading and renovation of these closed houses.
And, obviously, our roof policy doesn’t just end there. I want to emphasize the very great importance we attach to the institution of Social Compensation. An institution that we are drastically simplifying, so that the state in all its forms, from local self-government to central administration, can utilize assets, mainly real estate, fields, plots of land, which are currently completely unused, in order to build houses which can be rented to our fellow citizens who need it, at a low rent.
In closing, let me once again express my satisfaction with the speed with which we were able to and did implement the government’s commitment to a new “My Home” program and I look forward to the very rapid disbursement of the relevant sums from the beginning of next year so that, as I said before, that 20,000 of our fellow citizens should be able to make their dream come true, to finally have their own home”.
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