The state-owned Housing Fund is looking into ways of either buying

unsold homes below market value, leasing with deferred purchase or leasing

in the traditional way, according to Černač.

$If the project

succeeds, the Housing Fund would become a financial and property

institution that would provide long-term incentives for leasing,$ he

said.

Černač says the Housing Fund has enough capital, EUR

400-500m, to buy or lease about 3,000 apartments.

But he says the

project hinges on the overall financial situation in the country: if the

supplementary budget makes state borrowing cheaper, implementation will

become much more realistic.

Slovenia's housing market has been in

decline since 2008, with thousands of apartments remaining unsold despite

falling prices.

Prices of housing fell by 2.4% in the third quarter

of 2011 on the quarter before, with prices of new flats slumping by 5.2%

after three consecutive quarters of growth, official statistics

show.

Only 180 new flats were sold in the third quarter, compared to

an average of 320 per quarter in 2010, according to transactions reported

by real estate companies.