Central Bank moves to help first time home buyers

First time home buyers will have an easier path to their goal, said Central Bank Governor Trajko Slaveski after new regulation was put in place.

The move by the bank will allow banks to reduce the deposit to 10 percent of the apartment for first time buyers and to 15 percent for other buyers (down from 25 percent). Mechanisms will be put in place to make sure that the applicants are really first time buyers.

This move will primarily benefit young couples who do not have a home of their own. The spiking real-estate prices are especially prominent in Skopje, where they have reached 2,000 to 3,000 EUR per square meter, Slaveski said.