YEREVAN, December 17. /ARKA/. Some 1020 surveyed households aggregate demand for mortgage lending amounts to approximately $350 million, Tigran Jrbashyan, the head of Ameria Consulting Company, said today while presenting the results of studies conducted as part of French Development Agency and Armenian National Mortgage Company’s joint mortgage lending project.

”We have surveyed 1020 low- and mid-income households in Armenia’s provinces”, he said.

The study was conducted in several stages. At the first stage, key criteria for selecting respondents have been identified and methodology concepts discussed. At the second stage, households have been surveyed. The poll results have been analyzed and the final methodology has been worked out at the third stage. The fourth state was focused on summarizing all the observations. The study is planned to be completed in mid-January 2013.

Jrbashyan said households with AMD100,000-to-200,000 and AMD200,000-to-350,000 monthly income have been surveyed.

The poll showed that 94% of respondents in the first, low-income group, wanted loans for apartments, repair, electrical wirework etc. In the second, mid-income group, 34% sought mortgage loans alone, and 48% wished to borrow money for repairing their homes.

The survey showed that mortgage lending market is brisker in Armenia’s capital and nearby areas than in remote provinces and the most attractive are those loans that are extended for 60 to 120 months at a six-to-14-percent annual interest rate.

”There is some difference in financing in various provinces, particularly in quake-stricken areas”, Jrbashyan said. “Demand there is high, but residents of these areas wish mortgage loans to be extended for 250 months (about 20 years) and at a seven-percent interest rate and repair loans for 50 to 250 months at 15% interest rate”.

He said that these wishes are not in tune with market offers ”that is why demand may fall, if competitive offers shape”.

Jrbashyan also voiced concern over the fact that the majority of respondents are not interested in the lending which is provided for saving energy. Therefore, he finds it necessary to enhance public awareness of the matter.

Remarkable is that, commercial banks aggregate outstanding mortgage loan portfolio amounted to AMD 123.9 billion in October 2012 after growing 0.47% over one month. Loans extended in foreign currencies totaled AMD 60.4 billion and those extended in Armenian drams AMD 63.4 billion. ($1 - AMD 407.34). ---0--