Baku, July 23, 2025 — Azerbaijan’s mortgage market has seen significant activity in the first half of 2025, with nearly 29,000 mortgage contracts registered nationwide, according to the State Service for Property Issues.
In total, 173,383 property ownership rights were formalized, including 30,352 (17.5%) as first-time registrations and 143,031 (82.5%) as secondary transactions. Unsurprisingly, Baku remains the epicenter of real estate activity, accounting for 46,762 of the registrations, with the remainder spread across the country’s regions.
Despite the growing volume of transactions, real estate expert Ramil Gasymzade emphasized that not all recorded mortgages stem from classical credit lines issued by the Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund (MCGF).
“In the past 20 years, the Fund has issued a total of 54,904 loans. There’s a common misconception that every home is financed through the MCGF, but that’s not accurate,” Gasymzade explained. “Private loans secured by property and financing from commercial entities are also registered as mortgage contracts.”
Gasymzade noted a consistent trend in the market: primary registrations—typically linked to new-build purchases—remain lower than secondary market transactions, which dominate the housing landscape.
Affordability Remains a Major Obstacle
According to Gasymzade, one of the most pressing issues is the lack of accessibility to mortgage programs for the average citizen. Despite the market’s development, most Azerbaijanis struggle to meet the strict requirements set by the MCGF.
“The Fund still demands proof of high official income,” he said. “In practice, anyone earning less than 2,000 manats per month has almost no chance of qualifying. That means only high-income professionals or dual-income households with strong earnings are eligible.”
He also pointed to a growing mismatch between the loan limits set by mortgage programs and actual housing prices.
“Preferential mortgage loans are capped at 100,000 manats, and standard loans at 150,000. But in today’s market, even a basic one-bedroom apartment that meets program requirements is nearly impossible to find at those prices,” Gasymzade noted.
Ultimately, he argued, the stringent income criteria represent the greatest barrier to access. “That’s why, for much of the population, mortgages remain out of reach,” the expert concluded.
