“My Home II” falls short of initial target, with 14,114 final loan agreements

“My Home II” mobilised more than €2.15 billion in residential property purchases, providing cheaper financing to thousands of households, but without resolving the underlying problem of limited housing supply.

In terms of funding, the absorption rate was high. A total of 15,097 loans with a combined value of €1.82 billion were approved, representing 94.5% of the programme’s total budget.

However, the number of final loan agreements stood at 14,114, equivalent to approximately 71% of the initial target, which envisaged financing for around 20,000 households. At the same time, 93.5% of approved loans ultimately proceeded to contract signing.

Residential property purchases exceeding €2.15 billion

The programme’s total public support amounted to €943.2 million. Of this amount, €909.2 million related to the public contribution to the loans, while €34.1 million covered interest-rate subsidies.

These resources mobilised residential property purchases with a total value exceeding €2.15 billion, making “My Home II” a significant source of demand in the housing market during its implementation period.

The programme was financed 50% through resources from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, at zero interest, and 50% through participating credit institutions.

The maximum loan amount was €190,000, covering up to 90% of the property’s value, subject to the borrower’s credit assessment and the bank’s valuation of the property’s market value.

Average property size of 88.5 sq. m. and value of €152,100

The average market value of the properties stood at €152,100, while the average floor area was 88.5 sq. m.

These figures correspond to an average value of approximately €1,719 per sq. m., although they do not, of course, capture the significant variations between different areas, building ages, and quality characteristics.

Two out of three beneficiaries had incomes of up to €24,000

A substantial proportion of the financing was directed towards lower- and middle-income households, with 66.6% of beneficiaries having an annual income of up to €24,000, while only 0.58% had an income exceeding €44,000.

The average age of beneficiaries was 38, with 41% aged 36 or younger.

Some 58.45% were married or in a civil partnership, while approximately 1,060 households, or 7% of the total, were single-parent families.

More than 1,660 beneficiaries were members of families with three or more children and benefited from an additional interest-rate reduction, while 108 beneficiaries were persons with disabilities.

Approximately 37% of loans, or 5,594 financings with a total value of €619.8 million, were directed outside the regions of Attica and Central Macedonia.

Eastern Macedonia and Thrace recorded 1,075 loans, Thessaly 1,051, and Western Greece 844.

Cheaper financing, but not necessarily cheaper housing

The main advantage of “My Home II” was the reduction in financing costs. Fifty percent of each loan, provided through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, was interest-free, while certain categories of families were eligible for an additional interest subsidy on the bank-financed portion of the loan.

The main criticism levelled at the programme, however, concerns its impact from the demand side.

As with the first “My Home” programme, “My Home II” increased the purchasing power of thousands of households within a relatively short period, without a corresponding immediate increase in the supply of properties that met the programme’s eligibility criteria.

In areas with limited housing stock, this intensified competition for the same properties and was accompanied by market reports of price increases for properties eligible for the programme.