YEREVAN, February 25. /ARKA/. Armenia’s real estate market will remain stagnant until economic crisis is overcome, since the crisis has stricken mainly at housing, Tatul Manaseryan, adviser to Armenian Parliament Speaker, said Thursday at a press conference.

Construction declined 36.4% in 2009, compared with 2008, to AMD 575.7 billion.

“Stagnation started yet before the recession, but the crisis aggravated things,” he said. “It would be better to pay more attention to industrial housing that residential. This would spur economic development as a whole.”

The expert thinks that Armenian realty market can make some rally thanks to interest from Armenian communities worldwide, since Armenians living outside keep purchasing accommodations here.

Commenting on “Available Apartments for Young Families” government program, Manaseryan said that the country was long in need of such a program.

“But this is just a first step. I think that there should be no age and income restrictions.”

The lawmaker thinks it would be a lucrative business for non-banking financial organizations to lend money to young families on preferential terms.

On January 29, 2010, Armenian government approved the AMD 3-billion program, under which young families can borrow up to AMD 16 million for accommodation at 10.5% interest, of which 2% will be subsidized by the government.

Initial installment is 30%.

Those spouses whose aggregate age doesn’t exceed 60 years, and one of them is no older than 35 are eligible to participate in this program.

Those families, in which the single parent is no older than 30 is considered a young family as well. ($1 = AMD 382.41). -0---