Deputy Housing Minister, Luis Felipe Henao, revealed that last year the disbursement of housing loans in Colombia grew 8.7 percent. He noted that in 2009 existing home sales rose 48 percent. President Uribe attributed the revival of the sector to reduce interest rates. A total of 91.250 of home loans with subsidized interest rate of the national government has funded since the launch of the initiative in April last year to date. The report was delivered on Wednesday by the Deputy Minister of Housing, Luis Felipe Henao, during the presentation of housing macroproject Maiporé, developed by the Family Compensation Fund, and Ferdinand Colsubsidio Mazuera and Company. The official stressed that such a strategy, implemented by the Government to encourage the purchase of Public Housing in the country last year allowed the disbursement of loans in this sector grew by 8.7 percent. In this regard, President Alvaro Uribe Velez recalled that a year ago, when he began to notice a reduction in interest rates, and the Colombians began to assimilate the measure of interest rate subsidies through the Stabilization Fund Mortgage Portfolio (Frech), there was a great reaction in the construction sector."They lower interest rates and immediately raises the pace of housing," the president to explain the situation. He said that in the years 2007, 2008 and part of 2009 the increase in interest rates slowed the development of housing projects in the country, but that building activity was reactivated after the implementation of subsidies.
In this regard Deputy Housing Minister emphasized the good performance of the construction sector in 2009, for while in 2008 recorded sales were 4.6 billion pesos last year amounted to 6.1 billion pesos. “Eso está mostrando que en unidades lanzadas se creció más de un 21 por ciento y que en ventas se creció más de un 48 por ciento” which means that this is showing that it grew units shipped more than 21 percent and that sales grew more than 48 percent;the official added, noting that such behavior should be reflected in the growth of Gross Domestic Product ( GDP) in 2010. The Deputy Minister also attributed the revival of the construction to Decree 4065, which reduced the process to build Vivienda de Interes Social(VIS) (social interest housing)in the country. He said the decree, together with the help of the compensation funds and the subsidy rate, among other measures, prompted the initiation of VIS, which grew 98 percent during 2009.




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