eHousing is not for everyone: what borrowers have to face
2 April 2025 14:21
ANALYSIS
In 2024-2025, 98% of mortgage loans in Ukraine were granted under the eHouse program. It has become the most successful state mortgage program in the history of Ukraine. During these 2.5 years, 16 thousand families became owners of their own homes. The state has invested about UAH 26 billion in the program, as recently announced by the Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko. However, the official did not mention that it is not so easy to get a mortgage loan at a minimum interest rate. "Komersant Ukrainian" found out about the intricacies of allocating funds, finding suitable housing, and other issues.
Since October 2022, Ukraine has had a state program of preferential mortgages called eHouse. It allows certain categories of citizens to take out a mortgage loan at a reduced interest rate and buy a home. Military and security personnel, doctors, scientists and teachers can take out a 3% loan to buy a home. For IDPs, combatants, veterans and Ukrainians who do not own their own housing, the rate is 7%. The term of the mortgage loan is up to 20 years, with a down payment of 20%, but there is a simplified procedure for young people under 25: they can pay only 10% of the cost of housing to get a loan.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Ukrainians continue to actively participate in the affordable mortgage program ‘e’Oselya and receive loans for their own housing at preferential rates. In early March this year alone, 114 Ukrainians received housing loans. The total amount of loans amounted to UAH 224 million.
Among the lucky ones who received a loan at 3% are 30 military and security personnel, 5 doctors, 4 teachers, and 3 scientists. Loans at 7% were granted to: 49 Ukrainians without their own housing, 20 IDPs, and 3 veterans. Most loans were issued in Kyiv region and the city of Kyiv – 33 each, Ivano-Frankivsk region – 7, and Volyn region – 6.
By type of real estate, 63 Ukrainians received loans for first sale housing, of which 23 were under construction, and 51 loans were issued for housing on the secondary market. In particular, since the beginning of the year (since the registries were reopened), 1,065 Ukrainians have joined the eHouse program and received loans for their own housing worth more than UAH 1.9 billion.
As noted, 236 Ukrainians who were homeless have already used eHouse this year. And for the entire time of the program’s operation, it has been used:
- 8341 families of military and security personnel;
- 3488 Ukrainians who did not have housing (or it was less than the standard)
- 1273 teachers
- 1260 doctors;
- 399 IDPS;
- 336 veterans;
- 328 scientists.
Of the housing purchased under eHouse, 10,462 were secondary market properties, and 4,963 were so-called “first sale” properties, including 942 properties under construction.
The partner banks of Oselya are: Oschadbank, Privatbank, Ukrgasbank, Globus Bank, Sky Bank, Sense Bank, Credit Dnipro Bank, TASKOMBANK, BISBANK, Radabank.
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The rules have changed: housing must be no older than 3 years
“Previously, it was possible to buy an apartment or house up to 10 years old in Kyiv and the region, and even older in small towns, but since November last year, the conditions have changed. Now, under the eOselya program, housing not older than 3 years is available, but with a small exception: for IDPs, housing can be up to 10 years old in all regions where the program operates. Also, contract servicemen, law enforcement officers, doctors, teachers, scientists and veterans can apply for ten-year old housing in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions,”
– says
According to the expert, finding an apartment less than 3 years old in small towns where almost nothing is being built is very problematic.
There is demand for a loan at a minimum interest rate. The Ministry of Economy has already counted 100 thousand applicants, but the possibilities are not unlimited. It is planned to issue about 10 thousand loans this year. There are other nuances, and it’s not just a six-month waiting list.
“Banks are interested in loans, but there is limited funding for the program itself. Those funds that helped us with lending stopped providing funding after Trump came to power. A queue has formed at banks. For example, there are many people who want to buy housing in Kyiv and the region, and local banks do not have funds under this program. They are already using a trick: they take out loans from banks in other regions where this program is not so popular, but buy housing in the capital or the region,”
– he says
Out of five applicants, only one gets a loan
But there is one more nuance: not all real estate sellers want to deal with eOselya. After all, the amount from the purchase goes to their bank card, and the country has restrictions on cash withdrawals. By law, you can only withdraw 100 thousand hryvnias per day from your account. They prefer cash, especially when it comes to housing not in a new building, but in liquid, rented objects. Few people buy in a building under construction, but it is difficult to find apartments, especially small ones, in a building that has already been commissioned.
“Initially, the demand was for one-bedroom apartments, but today people are buying two-bedroom and small three-bedroom apartments. The amount allocated for the purchase has also increased to a maximum of UAH 5 million. Yes, it is stated that the minimum down payment is 20% of the cost, but banks often play it safe and require a minimum deposit of 30%. The vast majority of borrowers are women – 63%. Currently, the main borrowers are aged 26 to 35 years – 43%, of which 36% are single citizens,”
– says Vladyslav Kulishenko.
The queue at the bank is because only one out of five applicants is given money. Everyone expects that in May the Cabinet of Ministers will start allocating a larger amount – up to UAH 1 billion – for this program, which will satisfy everyone. In the meantime, banks are already offering their own mortgage program, not the state one, with an average rate of 17%, and a maximum loan of UAH 7 million. But the requirements for the borrower are serious. And the eHousing program is aimed at socially vulnerable groups with monthly incomes of less than UAH 100 thousand.
So, in any case, eHouse is working, although it would be nice to find more effective formats that would guarantee loans to more people. For example, Kateryna Rozhkova, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, suggests moving from direct lending to the population to a mechanism of interest rate compensation. In her opinion, Ukraine should develop a new mortgage strategy by mid-2025, taking into account budgetary constraints and striving to make eHousing financially profitable for the state. However, for now, everyone is waiting for a simple increase in the amount of funds allocated to the program.
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Author: Alla Dunina
