The upper band of Noua Casă goes up to €140,000, with a 15% down payment, and only for a new, finished property.
In the first band, up to €70,000, a 5% down payment is enough, and the state guarantees up to 50% of the loan.
The rate is capped at IRCC plus 2%. With IRCC at 5.57% from October 2026, the cap is 7.57%, in lei.
A sale within 5 years requires repayment or approval, and letting requires approval from the bank and the Ministry of Finance.
At an average price of €2,636 per sq m for a new apartment in Bucharest, €140,000 buys about 53 sq m.
The Noua Casă programme: the short answer
The Noua Casă ("New Home") programme is a Romanian state guarantee on mortgages for first-time buyers. In 2026 it continues with a guarantee ceiling of 500 million lei: up to €70,000 price, 5% down payment; from €70,001 to €140,000, 15% down payment, and only for a new property. The loan is in lei, the interest rate is capped at IRCC plus 2% at most, and there is a 5-year ban on selling. A villa in northern Bucharest usually costs well above the cap, so it does not qualify for the programme.
I get this question both from Romanian buyers and from Israelis who have heard about "the state mortgage with 5% down". The honest answer is that it is a good programme, but for a small apartment and a first-time buyer who lives in Romania. In this article I break down the conditions, and explain what to do when the home you want is bigger than the cap.
What Noua Casă is, and who is behind it
The programme was launched in 2009 as Prima Casă ("First Home"), and has since changed its name and terms several times. The mechanism has stayed the same: the bank grants an ordinary mortgage, and the state guarantees part of it through the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SMEs (FNGCIMM). The guarantee reduces the bank's risk, so it accepts a low down payment.
The historical scale is large: according to Ziarul Financiar, from 2009 to the end of 2024, 334,048 guarantees were granted, worth 31.6 billion lei. For 2026, the government approved a decision to continue the programme, on the initiative of the Ministry of Finance, with a guarantee ceiling of 500 million lei, the same ceiling as in 2025.
The 2026 conditions: two price bands
| Band 1 | Band 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Property price | Up to €70,000 | €70,001 to €140,000 |
| Minimum down payment | 5% | 15% |
| Maximum loan | €66,500 | €119,000 |
| State guarantee | Up to 50% of the loan | Up to 60% of the loan |
| Type of property | New or resale | New only (final acceptance within the last 5 years) or a strengthened building |
| Loan currency | Lei | Lei |
The general conditions, according to StartupCafe and Adevărul:
- A capped variable rate: IRCC plus a margin of 2% at most. From 1 October 2026, IRCC stands at 5.57%, according to Economedia, so the rate cap is 7.57%.
- A guarantee fee: 0.15% a year on the outstanding guaranteed portion.
- A first home: you must not own a residential property, alone or with your spouse, or own at most one property smaller than 50 sq m.
- A finished, registered property: no off-plan purchases under the programme.
- A notary discount: a fee 30% below the market level for authenticating the purchase contract.
Five reasons a villa does not qualify
1. The price. The cap is €140,000. According to the imobiliare.ro index cited by Romania Insider, the average asking price for a new apartment in Bucharest was €2,636 per sq m in June 2026. As a simple calculation, €140,000 buys about 53 sq m of new apartment in the city. A 150 sq m villa with a garden is in a different category.
2. New and finished property only. In the upper band, only a new property that has received final acceptance. Most new villas are sold during construction, and they do not meet the condition until they are finished and registered.
3. A first home. Anyone who already owns an apartment usually does not meet the condition. For a foreign buyer, and especially someone who owns an apartment in Israel, check with the bank how the condition is interpreted in your case. I found no official source that answers this definitively.
4. Restrictions on use. For 5 years you may not sell without full repayment or approval. Letting requires written approval from the bank and the Ministry of Finance. This is a programme for a home you live in, not for a second property.
5. A loan in lei. Anyone earning in shekels or euros also takes on currency risk. We wrote about this in the article on a mortgage in euros or lei.
The line to remember: Noua Casă is a tool for a small first home, not a financing route for a villa.
Noua Casă is a tool for a small first home, not a financing route for a villa.
What it comes to a month, at the rate cap
To give you the order of magnitude: the maximum loan of €119,000, at about 5.35 lei per euro (the ECB reference rate, 7.10.2026), is about 636,650 lei. Over 30 years and at the 7.57% rate cap, the monthly repayment is about 4,480 lei. In practice the bank's rate may be below the cap, and the repayment accordingly lower. (The calculation is for illustration only, without insurance and fees.)
On how to calculate a monthly repayment in Romania, step by step, see the guide to calculating a mortgage repayment.
Why the programme is smaller than it seems
A ceiling of 500 million lei sounds large, but use of the programme has fallen sharply. According to bankingnews.ro, by February 2026 a total of 334,304 guarantees had been granted. Compared with the end-2024 figure, that is only a few hundred guarantees in more than a year.
The explanation is simple: apartment prices rose, and the €140,000 cap did not move. In the large cities, few new properties remain that fit under it.
If not Noua Casă, then what
Buyers whose home is above the cap use several routes:
- An ordinary mortgage. Romanian banks also lend to non-residents, on different terms. We set out the process in the guide to a mortgage in Romania, and the terms for non-residents in the article on a mortgage for non-residents.
- A higher down payment. On an ordinary mortgage the bank requires more equity. How much exactly, see the guide to the down payment in Romania.
- A rate fixed for a period. Some banks offer a fixed rate for the first few years. Compare it with the variable offer.
- Financing from Israel. A loan secured on a property in Israel is a different route, with its own advantages and disadvantages.
I will mention it once: in our project in Balotești, 29 villas with prices from €299,900, financing of up to 70% from a Romanian bank is available, subject to the bank's approval. That is not Noua Casă, and it is not meant to be.
Who Noua Casă suits, and who it does not
It suits: a young couple or a family who live and work in Romania, with no home, buying a two- or three-room apartment outside the city centre, or in a smaller city.
It does not suit: people looking for a villa, people buying off-plan, people planning to let, and people who already own an apartment.
Frequently asked questions
What is the price cap in the Noua Casă programme in 2026?
€70,000 in the first band, with a 5% down payment, and €140,000 in the second band, with a 15% down payment, which applies only to a new or strengthened property. The maximum loan is €66,500 or €119,000 respectively.
Can you buy a villa through Noua Casă?
Only if its price is up to €140,000, it is new and finished, and the buyer meets the first-home condition. In northern Bucharest there are almost no such villas, so in practice the answer is usually no.
What is the interest rate in the Noua Casă programme?
A variable rate in lei, capped at IRCC plus 2% at most. From 1 October 2026 IRCC is 5.57%, so the cap is 7.57%. In addition you pay a guarantee fee of 0.15% a year.
Can you let or sell an apartment bought through Noua Casă?
A sale within 5 years requires full repayment or the fund's approval. Letting requires written approval from the bank and the Ministry of Finance.
Can you buy off-plan under the programme?
No. The property must be finished, with final acceptance, and registered. A purchase at the construction stage is financed through other routes.
The bottom line
Noua Casă does exactly what it was designed to do: it helps people who live in Romania buy a first home with a small down payment. Anyone looking for a villa needs to plan ordinary financing, and start from the real numbers.
If you want to build a financing plan for a home above the cap, ours or anywhere else, book a 30-minute call with me. We will go over the down payment, the currency and the monthly repayment before you meet a bank.
Moti Azulay, Compass Group Romania
Sources and data: FNGCIMM, the Noua Casă programme · bankingnews.ro, Noua Casă 2026 · Ziarul Financiar, guarantee data 2009–2024 · Adevărul, the 2026 conditions · StartupCafe, restrictions on letting and selling · Wall-Street.ro, the 2026 conditions · Economedia, IRCC from October 2026 · Romania Insider, the imobiliare.ro index.
This article is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. The programme's terms are set each year and may change, and eligibility is assessed by the bank and the fund. Correct as of October 2026.
Now you know more.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult local professionals before any transaction.
