The Council of Europe Development Bank will provide Ukraine with an additional EUR100 million loan for the HOME project, which will help the government solve the housing problems of the most vulnerable groups who have lost their homes due to the war, and another EUR50 million loan to finance soft housing loans through the State Fund for Youth Housing (Derzhmolodzhytlo).
According to the bank’s website, this decision was made by its Administrative Board on May 31.
It is noted that the initial loan of the HOME project, which was approved in 2024 and also amounted to EUR 100 million, allowed the restoration of the housing rights of 3 thousand families whose homes were destroyed.
As for the loan to the State Agency for Youth and Housing, this initiative aims to overcome critical socio-economic vulnerability by prioritizing internally displaced persons (IDPs) who do not have alternative housing solutions, the CEB said. According to him, the loan will allow approximately 1.1 thousand families to purchase housing.
In a telegram on Saturday, Oleksiy Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine and Minister of Community and Territorial Development, added that the project “HOME: Compensation for Destroyed Housing” is part of the ‘eRecovery’ program. According to him, more than 250 thousand real estate objects are currently registered in the State Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property.
“Thanks to additional funding from HOME, more than 3,000 families who have already received housing certificates for destroyed housing will be able to get new homes. This component of eRestoration allows certificate holders to purchase new homes to replace those destroyed by Russian aggression. Participants in hostilities, defenders, people with disabilities and large families have a priority right to compensation under the program,” Kuleba emphasized.
According to him, thanks to the project of preferential lending for IDPs, 1.46 thousand Ukrainian families will be provided with their own housing on the most affordable terms by 2025.
The value of residential real estate in the euro area in the third quarter of 2024 increased by 2.6% compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the European Union Statistical Office (Eurostat).
In EU countries, the figure increased by 3.8%.
Only four countries recorded a decline in prices in annual terms, with the strongest declines in France (by 3.5%) and Finland (by 2.8%). The most significant increases were recorded in Bulgaria (by 16.5%), Poland (by 14.4%), and Hungary (by 13.4%).
In July-September, housing prices rose by 1.4% in both the euro area and the European Union compared to the previous three months. In the quarterly comparison, prices fell only in Finland (by 0.6%) and Estonia (by 0.5%), while the most significant price increases were recorded in Bulgaria (by 3.9%), Portugal (by 3.7%) and the Netherlands (by 3.6%).
For comparison, in the second quarter, housing prices in the euro area rose by 1.4% year-on-year, and in the European Union by 3%. Compared to the first quarter, prices rose by 1.9% in both regions.
Zezman Holding (Odesa) completed the construction of 15.2 thousand square meters of housing in 2024 and will continue to implement the previously announced residential estates in Uzhhorod and Odesa next year.
“This year, we have taken a bold and strategically important step by expanding our presence from the southern region to the west of Ukraine. We presented two large-scale projects: Lizrome in Uzhhorod, the first residential community in the region that meets the principles of sustainable development, and Gross Liebental cottage community in Odesa agglomeration, designed with a focus on energy autonomy, security and flexibility of housing solutions,” Boris Goldenstein, founder and CEO of Zezman Holding, toldInterfax-Ukraine.
By the end of 2024, the developer completed the construction of two buildings with 357 apartments in the Artville residential complex in Odesa, with a total area of 15.2 thousand square meters. The construction of nine buildings for 1 thousand apartments with a total area of 43.5 thousand square meters is also underway.
According to the company, about 40% of sales are made under the eOselya program, which indicates a high demand for mortgage programs.
“At the same time, we are seeing an increase in demand for ready-made housing, in particular, for renovated apartments that meet the principles of ready to use. This reflects the changing priorities of consumers who are looking for comfort and convenience without spending time and money on repairs,” Zezman Holding said.
Founded in 2013, Zezman Holding has commissioned 13 houses, with another 28 residential buildings at various stages of construction.
Ukraine’s first inclusive town for veterans was built in Kyiv region, and 45 soldiers who sustained significant physical injuries during the fighting received the keys to their new homes on Sunday, said Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration.
“The Andriy Zasukha Charitable Foundation and Kolos Kovalivka FC helped to implement this unique project… Everything was realized in 9 months. Not a single penny of the regional or state budget was used,” Kravchenko wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
According to him, there are 59 houses in the complex, each of them is 75-80 square meters. “The housing and land, which is 4-5 acres, will become the property of our defenders and their families. Philanthropists will also help to make repairs in the houses, install kitchen furniture and equip bathrooms. Everything will be done with the veterans’ needs and comfort in mind. The houses have spacious terraces, water, electricity, gas and sewerage. The sidewalks and driveways are arranged so that its residents can easily move around the city. There is a recreation area, a park, sports and children’s playgrounds, barbecue areas, a post office, and shelters are being completed. An outpatient clinic and a shop will be built,” said the head of the regional administration.
According to him, the town will also be home to defenders from various military units, as well as the families of the fallen. “KOVA focused on the brigades under its auspices: 72nd Airmobile Brigade, 114th TRO, 3rd Assault Brigade, and GUR. All candidates for accommodation in the city were submitted by the command of the military units. The criteria are as follows: these are soldiers who were injured and can no longer serve, have a family and do not have their own housing,” said Kravchenko.
Housing commissioning in Ukraine in January-March 2024 increased by 12.2% compared to the same period in 2023 – up to 2 million 178.6 thousand square meters, the State Statistics Service reported.
According to the report, 1 million 166.2 thousand square meters of housing were commissioned in urban areas in the first quarter, which is 20.5% higher than in the first quarter of last year. In rural areas, housing was commissioned by 8.9% more than in January-March 2023 – 1 million 12.3 thousand square meters.
In total, 25.4 thousand apartments were commissioned in the first quarter, which is 2.3% more than in the first quarter of 2023. At the same time, 17.3 thousand apartments were commissioned in apartment buildings. 16.1 thousand apartments were commissioned in cities and 9.2 thousand in villages.
In January-March, Kyiv region commissioned the most housing – 453.2 thousand square meters or 4.9 thousand apartments (20.8% of the total), exceeding the figure for the same period last year by 28.2%. Next comes Lviv region – 212.1 thousand square meters or 2.2 thousand apartments (9.7%), exceeding the result of the previous year by 19.5%; Ivano-Frankivsk region – 157.9 thousand square meters or 1.8 thousand apartments (7.3%), “plus” 15.5% respectively; Volyn region – 153.2 thousand square meters or 2 thousand apartments (7%), “plus” 75% respectively.
In Kyiv, 236.8 thousand square meters of housing or 3.4 thousand apartments (10.9%) were commissioned in the first quarter, which is 33.8% higher than in the first quarter of 2023.
According to the State Statistics Service, the largest increase in housing commissioning in January-March was recorded in Donetsk region, where the figure increased 5 times compared to the same period in 2023 – up to 4.3 thousand square meters (0.2% of the total), and in Zaporizhzhia region – plus 335%, up to 11.6 thousand square meters (0.5%).
The data are given taking into account the housing commissioned in accordance with the temporary procedure for commissioning houses built without a building permit, as well as excluding the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation and parts of the territory where hostilities are/were conducted, the State Statistics Service reminds.
As reported, by the end of 2023, the commissioning of housing in Ukraine increased by 3.8% compared to 2022 – up to 7 million 380.7 thousand square meters.
