MURMANSK, April 29. /TASS/. The Murmansk Region resumed accepting applications for a subsidy-based housing construction program - Own Home in the Arctic, which was launched in 2022, the regional Ministry of Construction said.
Earlier, applicants could receive up to 1.5 million rubles ($18,000) for the construction or purchase of a house or a house kit. The program has developed into a most popular incentive in the region.
"The Own Home in the Arctic program was initiated by the Murmansk Region's Governor Andrey Chibis. The program has become very popular among Northerners. The demand for it is growing every year. We have analyzed the program's implementation and the existing mortgage lending. The region's government is extending the program, however, due to a limited budget, we will update its conditions," the government's representative quoted Minister of Construction Alexander Karpov as saying.
From 2025, the one-time cash payment will cover 30% of a private house's cost, where the maximum payment has been cut from 1.5 million ($18,000) to 1 million rubles ($12,000). The Own Home in the Arctic certificate may be used as a down mortgage payment, including for the preferential "Arctic" mortgage (at 2%) and the "Family" mortgage (at 6%) plans, or for buying a shared-equity house from a developer. Applications may be submitted before June 1.
Over the program's term, about 1,500 certificates worth 1.8 billion rubles ($22 million) have been issued, the governor said, and the program participants have built or purchased more than 1,000 houses of a total area of almost 88,000 square meters.