Ministry of Finance: Youth Housing 3.0 Strengthens Risk Management, Up to 160,000 Eligible

(Central News Agency reporters Lai Yu-chen and Yeh Su-ping, Taipei, July 16) The Youth Housing 3.0 mortgage subsidy program is set to launch on August 1, 2024. It introduces new requirements on age, property price, and income thresholds, while interest subsidies will be phased out gradually. However, a 5-year grace period will remain. Deputy Minister of Finance Juan Qing-hua stated today that the new scheme's rule—where the borrower's age plus loan term must not exceed 80 years—is primarily designed for risk management and repayment capacity, strengthening overall oversight. Excluding loan application intent, the eligible population is estimated to reach up to 160,000 people.

The Executive Yuan approved the 'Youth Housing 3.0' program today, which will take effect on August 1. The program adds three new requirements: first, applicants must be under 50 years old, and the sum of their age and loan term must not exceed 80 years; second, property price caps vary by region—NT$35 million maximum in Taipei City, NT$25 million in New Taipei City and Hsinchu County/City, and NT$20 million in other counties and cities; third, the income threshold requires applicants’ annual personal income not to exceed NT$2 million.

Additionally, to support marriage and child-rearing, the loan limit for families newly married within two years or with children is raised to NT$12 million and NT$15 million, respectively. Meanwhile, interest subsidies will be phased out gradually. Premier Cho Jung-tai instructed during the Executive Yuan meeting that Youth Housing 3.0 will maintain existing requirements such as one-time lifetime loan eligibility, self-occupancy declaration, pre-loan credit review, and enhanced post-loan management. He also directed the Ministry of Finance to supervise public banks to actively implement the program.

Regarding the adjustments in version 3.0, Juan explained at a post-meeting press conference that previous Youth Housing policies had no income restrictions. This time, to better target resources to those in genuine need, the policy now requires applicants’ annual income not to exceed NT$2 million. Property price caps have also been introduced. The age limit of under 50 aims to reflect changing social trends—such as delayed home purchases and later marriages—ensuring that many families with minor children are not excluded from loan eligibility due to overly restrictive age criteria.

On the rule that the sum of the applicant’s age and loan term must not exceed 80 years, Juan stated this is primarily for risk management and repayment capacity, enhancing overall control. Financial institutions will be required to simulate monthly repayment amounts during credit assessment and ensure applicants have sufficient financial capacity to bear the burden.

According to Ministry of Finance data, since its launch in 2010 (Minguo Year 99), the Youth Housing program has assisted over 510,000 households, with cumulative disbursements of approximately NT$2.7 trillion. For the New Youth Housing (Youth Housing 2.0) alone, there have been over 170,000 cases, with disbursements totaling around NT$1.3 trillion. Regarding the potential beneficiaries of Youth Housing 3.0, Juan estimated, based on 2.0’s figures, that the eligible population could range between 157,000 and 160,000 people.

When asked how the NT$2 million income threshold was determined, Juan said it was calculated based on the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics’ 2024 (Minguo Year 113) Household Income and Expenditure Survey. That year, average annual household expenditure was NT$888,700 and savings NT$276,000. Since housing burden should not exceed one-third of income, a reasonable estimate placed the income standard at around NT$1.74 million. This was then rounded up to set a clear cap of NT$2 million.

In response to media inquiries about whether Youth Housing 3.0’s market-stimulating effect is limited amid cooling real estate transactions and tightening lending conditions, Executive Yuan spokesperson Lee Hui-chih stated that the Central Bank will continuously review credit controls and, as an independent institution, will make timely public announcements as appropriate. (Edited by Su Chih-tsung) 1150716