Will Youth安心3.0 Rescue the Sluggish Housing Market? Public Bank Executive Analyzes 'Market Has Already Changed': Won't Prompt Home Buying

On the 16th, the Executive Yuan meeting approved the 'Youth安心3.0' plan, officially titled the 'Youth Homeownership Affordable Loan 3.0 Program.' The program will launch on August 1 and run for six years, introducing new age, property price, and wealth-exclusion thresholds, with interest subsidies to be gradually phased out—though the five-year grace period will remain unchanged. A public bank executive stated that Youth安心3.0 will not stimulate the currently sluggish housing market, as the market has already returned to fundamental demand; people won't decide to buy homes solely because of this policy.

When will Youth安心3.0 take effect? The Executive Yuan meeting on the 16th approved the report on the 'Youth Homeownership Affordable Loan 3.0 Program,' which will take effect on August 1 and last for six years. In addition to supporting marriage and child-rearing, the program introduces new age, property price, and wealth-exclusion thresholds. Interest subsidies will be gradually phased out, while the five-year grace period remains in place.

During the post-cabinet press conference, Executive Yuan spokesperson Lee Hui-chih relayed instructions from Premier Cho Jung-tai, who emphasized preventing speculation by maintaining restrictions such as one lifetime loan per person, self-occupancy declarations, pre-loan credit checks, and enhanced post-loan management. He also instructed the Ministry of Finance to supervise public banks to actively implement the program and ensure it effectively assists young first-time homebuyers and reduces housing burdens for families with children.

Age restrictions: Under Youth安心3.0, applicants must be under 50 years old, and the sum of the applicant’s age and loan term must not exceed 80 years. For example, a 49-year-old applicant would need a loan term of 31 years or less.

Interest subsidies: For the first three years, the interest subsidy will remain at 1.775%. In the following three years, it will gradually increase to 1.9%, 2.025%, and 2.15%.

Wealth-exclusion threshold: The loan eligibility is based on the borrower’s annual income, capped at NT$2 million.

Loan limits: The maximum loan amount remains at NT$10 million. However, newlywed families and families with children will see their loan limits increased to NT$12 million and NT$15 million, respectively.

Executive Yuan spokesperson Lee Hui-chih (pictured) relayed Premier Cho Jung-tai’s instruction to prevent speculation by maintaining the one-lifetime-loan restriction. (Photo by Lo Li-pang)

A public bank executive noted that currently, the government subsidizes 1.5 percentage points and banks subsidize 0.5 percentage points of the Youth安心 interest rate. The plan to gradually reduce subsidies over three years, followed by a three-year transition back to market rates, is a reasonable arrangement that allows borrowers to gradually adapt to rising interest rates.

Will Youth安心3.0 stimulate the current sluggish housing market? The public bank executive believes it will not. The market has already returned to fundamental demand—buyers are purchasing homes due to actual housing needs, not because of policy incentives like Youth安心3.0.

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