Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – Experts of Institute for Macroeconomic and Regional Studies (IMRI) conducted a social survey to study the needs of the population in housing and the problems that arise in the process of making purchases.

The survey, conducted in February this year, covered 1,620 people, including 4 thematic and 5 questionnaire questions, which respondents had the opportunity to answer through the Google Forms platform.

The survey revealed the following:

83% of respondents noted that they have a need to purchase housing, of which 96% require appropriate support (71% - urban and 29% - residents of rural areas).

Over the past six years, the population of our country has increased by 5.5 million people, and according to forecasts, by 2035 it will exceed 45 million people. With this in mind, 326,000 new residential buildings have been put into operation since 2017. In 2022, the New Uzbekistan program was launched to build 31 residential areas. In 2023, resources in the amount of 9 trillion soums will be allocated to 31,000 families for housing mortgages to commercial banks.

The survey aroused serious interest among the residents of Tashkent. Thus, 41% of the respondents mentioned living in the capital, of which 48% of the participants live on a rental basis; 68% of those renting housing are employees of state organizations.

According to the resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, from 1 April 2020, when purchasing real estate in Tashkent and Tashkent region, citizens of the country do not need to register at the place of permanent residence in these regions, this created equal opportunities for the population to buy housing in the capital.

About 74.5% of citizens wishing to purchase housing noted that they are experiencing difficulties with the payment of the down payment and interest on the loan.

Over the past 3 years, subsidies in the amount of 1.3 trillion soums have been provided to families in need of housing for initial contributions and interest payments, and in 2023 it is planned to allocate 1.6 trillion soums for these purposes.

While 25% of the population with no official income indicated difficulties in paying a monthly loan payment, for other participants this figure is 22%. In other words, citizens without official income are worried about monthly payments due to the uncertainty of future sources of income.

From 1 May, mortgage loans will also be available to the population with an insufficient amount of official income. At the same time, citizens who have paid a larger down payment may be able to obtain a cheaper loan from a bank.

As you know, in rural areas the need of the population for private houses is high. 61.4% of the surveyed residents of rural areas stated that they need housing due to the large number of family members living together, as well as small living space.

In 2023, 10 thousand residents will receive loans in the amount of 1.5 trillion soums to expand or additionally build their own homes.

Earlier, IMRI experts conducted a study in Navoi region in order to identify multidimensional poverty indicators developed by the Oxford Initiative for Combating Poverty and Human Development. According to which, in the opinion of the surveyed population, the lack of own housing is the second main indicator of poverty among the 23 available indicators.

In general, it can be noted that the development of favorable and flexible conditions for mortgage lending, the introduction of modern mechanisms and institutional reforms in the mortgage market serve to achieve the goals of meeting the needs of the population in housing in the face of growing demand for it.