Financial Tribune - Housing facilities allocated during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Nov. 21) increased by 30% compared with the same period of last year, the managing director of Bank Maskan, the state-run agent bank of the housing sector, said.

Abolqasem Rahimi Anaraki added that Bank Maskan provided home buyers with 380,398 loans worth 132.9 trillion rials ($1.25 billion) over the period, the bank�s official news outlet HIBNA reported.

Loans allocated for purchasing homes rose 45% in the eight-month period, he added.

The bank said earlier "the volume of growth in the coverage of home purchase applicants has been unprecedented in recent years".