The government-backed program was amended by Finance Ministry order no. 1119/2015, published in the Official Gazette on September 28.
Thus, people who already have a home acquired through the program can replace it with a bigger or more expensive one on the condition that they sell the initial home and liquidate the loan before closing the contract for the acquisition of the new home, Romania’s national guarantee fund for SMEs (FNGCIMM) said in a statement.
FNGCIMM has granted over 15,600 guarantees under the First Home program in the first half of the year, up 40% from 11,100 in the same period a year earlier, totaling RON1.3 billion.
Most of the guarantees were for beneficiaries in Bucharest – 27.01%, followed by Ilfov – 14.83%, Cluj – 6.47%, and Timis – 6.28 %. Covasna (0.23%) and Harghita (0.16%) are on the last positions.
Statistically, the First Home program was mainly accessed by people aged 26 to 35, who preferred two-room apartments.