First Home running out of customers: only 80 applications approved daily in May

Romanians are no longer rushing to take "First Home" loans, with demand dropping 40% after the launch of the second stage of the scheme in April, to some 80-100 applications per day, government data reveal. Customers are more reluctant because the economy is worse and also because the overhaul of the scheme did not go as expected, so that it continues to favour transactions involving old homes.
At the same time, interest margins remained the same as in 2009, even though conditions have significantly improved on the international financial markets.
"I believe demand went down because of market conditions first of all, which make people think this is not the right time for such investments. Yet the scheme has not been overhauled and it is obvious it should be in order to encourage people to buy new homes," says Dragos Cabat, managing partner of Financial View.
Some real estate agencies are even saying that the number of customers working with them to buy a home via the "First Home" scheme loan is down to one fourth of what it was last autumn, because many clients own a plot of land and are waiting for the enforcement guidelines for home building loans to come out.