The federal government’s newly launched Wazir-e-Azam Apna Ghar Programme changes housing loans landscape in Pakistan, offering loans for housing as rents keep climbing, especially in major cities, construction material costs nearly doubled, and bank mortgages carried markups north of 20%.
Backed by Rs3.2 trillion allocation and aiming to put roofs over 5Lac households within five years, Apna Ghar Programme was introduced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government in partnership with State Bank of Pakistan. In simple terms, it’s a subsidy and risk-sharing deal between the government and commercial banks, designed so that first-time buyers aren’t priced out by market interest rates.
Loan Amounts, Estimated Monthly Payments
| Amount | Term | Markup | Approx. Installment |
| Rs2.5 million | 20 years | 5% | Rs16,499 |
| Rs5 million | 20 years | 5% | Rs33,000 |
| Rs10 million | 20 years | 5% | Rs66,000 |
Apna Ghar Scheme feature is the markup rate. Instead of the double-digit rates typically charged on housing finance in the country.s Pakistanis under the Apna Ghar Programme pay just 5% per year for the first ten years of their loan. After that, the rate resets to whatever the market is charging at the time, roughly 1-year KIBOR plus 3%, for however many years remain on the loan.
Borrowers can take financing of up to Rs10 million, capped at 90% of the property’s value, whichever figure turns out smaller. That means the buyer only needs to arrange 10% of the cost upfront, with the bank covering the rest. Repayment can be spread across as long as 20 years, and going by early estimates, a borrower taking the smallest loan slab of around Rs2.5 million could expect to pay something in the region of Rs16,499 a month, scaling up from there depending on how much is borrowed.
Who Can Apply?
Apna Ghar scheme is aimed squarely at first-time homeowners. If you, or your spouse, already own a house, flat, or residential plot anywhere in Pakistan, you won’t qualify, this isn’t meant for people upgrading or investing in a second property. Government employees who’ve already been allotted a house or plot by the state are excluded for the same reason.
Most banks want applicants to be between 21 and 60 years old at the time of applying, though the exact bracket shifts a little depending on the lender, salaried applicants are often held to a 25-to-60 window, while self-employed borrowers can go up to 65 by the time the loan matures. On the income side, banks are generally looking for a minimum of about Rs35,000 a month, and your installment can’t eat up more than a third of your combined household income once debt obligations are factored in.
Apply Online
Applicants need to visit apnaghar.gov.pk, or the housing-finance page of whichever bank they’d prefer to work with, and register using their CNIC and mobile number.
From there, most portals offer a built-in eligibility calculator that estimates your debt-burden ratio before you even fill out the full form, useful for gauging whether you’re likely to qualify before committing time to the paperwork.
Once you’ve picked which of the four financing categories applies to you, the actual application — available in both Urdu and English — asks for your personal information, income details and information about the property in question. You’ll need to attach copies of your CNIC (and your co-applicant’s, if you have one), proof of income such as salary slips or bank statements, documents proving ownership of the property or plot, and a recent utility bill as proof of address.
After submitting online, the process moves to your chosen bank’s branch, where staff verify your documents and complete biometric checks. The bank will then independently value the property before signing off on final approval and releasing the funds. Beyond the banks already mentioned, Askari Bank, Bank of Khyber and several others regulated by the State Bank of Pakistan are also taking part.
The financing is restricted to four specific uses, buying a ready house of up to 10 Marla or a flat up to 1,500 square feet, buying a plot and then constructing a house on it, building on land you already own, or finishing off a house that’s only partially built.
What it explicitly won’t cover is renovation, expansion or repair work on a property that’s already complete, so if you’re hoping to extend an existing home, this particular scheme isn’t the one.
Banks Offering Loans
Bank of Punjab, Allied Bank, Bank Alfalah, Bank AL Habib and Standard Chartered offer scheme through standard interest-based mortgage products at the subsidised rate.
For those who’d rather avoid interest altogether, Islamic banks like Meezan Bank, along with the Islamic banking windows of conventional lenders, offer the same scheme structured as a Diminishing Musharakah.
PM Shehbaz launches ‘Apna Ghar Programme’ low-cost housing loan scheme
