Financing for housing and sustainable urban development will be the topics under discussion at the event to be held on August 22 and 23 in Managua.
The Chamber of Builders in Nicaragua and the Inter-American Housing Union are organizing the event, which will bring together professional financial real estate companies, developers and builders, banks and finance companies, savings and loans companies for housing, cooperatives, investors, and representatives of public entities.
The Chamber of Builders has recorded eight projects for luxury housing in the country with retail prices ranging from $100 thousand to $450 thousand.
The Chamber of Builders of Nicaragua (Cadur), argues that housing designed for more affluent people have had good sales. Currently there are eight projects of this type recorded in Managua and there are an estimated eight more that are not part of Cadur, with prices ranging from $100 thousand to $450 thousand.
In light of rumors over possible changes to mortgage conditions, Nicaraguan real estate developers are asking the country's banks not to go through with them because they would affect the sector’s growth.
Alberto Atha, president of the Chamber of Builders of Nicaragua (Cadur), said that a rumor is spreading that some banks will increase interest rates on mortgage loans by between one and two percentage points and the premium could be increased by 15 %. "We are convinced that such a move would affect and stagnate the growth process that the industry is experiencing." ... although the changes are not yet official, they are holding talks with banks asking for these measures not to be applied in the immediate future. "
The National Housing Plan is paying off, and the Chamber of Developers and the government is working to make banks more flexible with credit for urban social interest projects.
Employers and the government are moving towards common positions regarding measures that could ease mortgage lending for low-income families (less than $521 per month) and the construction of affordable housing.
These agents are intermediaries in mortgage management, obtaining advantages regarding both interest rates and contractual terms for their clients.
During the real estate boom in Panama, these intermediaries—people with good connections in the banking and real estate market—had foreign investors, generally from the U.S., as their main clients, assisting them in the process of obtaining mortgages for properties valued at over $200,000.
Profitability drops as asset liquidity increases, but liquidity is what ensures the life of the banking business and their customers' money.
Panamanian banks have not used the extra funds that the financial incentive program (PEF) made available to them in order to stimulate lending. In addition, it must be considered that said funds are very expensive, and they have simply not been needed.
At least 3 Nicaraguan banks obtained a loan of $10 million each from the INSS to finance low-income housing projects.
The president of the Association of Private Banks of Nicaragua (ASOBANP), Arturo Arana, told Prensa.com that the agreement with the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute (INSS) “had already been approved and 'I think that several banks already have it. They are going to finance low-income housing with Social Security funds'."