"In order to improve housing conditions": Siluanov announced the government's plans to seek a reduction in mortgage rates

The Russian government plans to continue working to reduce mortgage rates in the country.

This was announced on Monday, October 5, by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

“In order to improve housing conditions, we will strive for a consistent decrease in mortgage rates,” Siluanov said during a speech at parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council.

According to the Central Bank, in August 2020, the average mortgage rate in Russia renewed its historical minimum and dropped to 7.16% per annum.

Moreover, over the last month of the summer, Russians have issued more than 154.5 thousand housing loans totaling over 392 billion rubles.

The indicators became the highest for the entire time of observation.

“The Russians began to rapidly invest in real estate.

This is partly due to a decrease in bank rates on deposits - that is, citizens tried to profitably preserve their savings.

Moreover, the opportunity to issue a loan for housing at preferential rates with state support played in favor of the rush demand, "Irina Radchenko, vice president of the International Academy of Mortgage and Real Estate, told RT.

Recall that back in April, the authorities launched a preferential mortgage program at a rate of 6.5% per annum.

Until November 1, 2020, Russians can receive loans with an appropriate rate for the purchase of apartments worth up to 12 million rubles in the Moscow and St. Petersburg agglomerations, as well as up to 6 million rubles in other regions of the country.

According to the latest estimates, during the period of the program, Russian banks have issued more than 500 thousand loans at a reduced rate for the amount of almost 362 billion rubles.

This is stated in the materials of the company "DOM.RF".

“By the end of 2020, we expect a record mortgage issue: at least 1.3-1.4 million loans for a total amount of more than 3.3 trillion rubles.

At the same time, in the case of the extension of the preferential mortgage program after November 1, the numbers may be higher: more than 1.5 million agreements worth 3.7 trillion rubles, "Mikhail Goldberg, head of the DOM.RF Analytical Center, said in a conversation with RT.

Experts explain the decrease in mortgage rates by the growing competition between banks.

According to Irina Radchenko, in order to attract an additional client base, credit organizations reduce the difference between the rate at which they borrow funds from the Central Bank and the final rate on a mortgage loan.

On signal from the regulator

The further situation in the mortgage market will to a certain extent depend on the policy of the Central Bank, experts are sure.

Traditionally, credit institutions closely monitor changes in the Central Bank's key rate and, on the basis of decisions made by the regulator, independently determine the level of long-term lending rates, including mortgage rates.

Since the beginning of 2020, the Bank of Russia has reduced its key rate from 6.25 to 4.25% per annum.

The indicator became the lowest in the entire post-Soviet period.

According to experts, in the near future the Central Bank will most likely keep the rate unchanged, but at the same time, mortgage prices may continue to fall.

“There are no serious factors for further cuts in the key rate, therefore, most likely, it will remain at the current level for now.

At the same time, mortgage rates will decrease slightly for all categories of borrowers to 7-7.05% per annum.

This will be possible due to stable demand and the action of state support programs, "Alexei Krichevsky, an expert on the real estate market of the Academy of Finance and Investment Management, explained in an interview with RT.

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• © Evgeny Biyatov

Meanwhile, in the long term, rates on housing loans in Russia may further decrease.

This point of view in an interview with RT was expressed by the head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market Anatoly Aksakov.

According to him, in the next five years, the indicator can drop to 5% per annum.

“How quickly the authorities manage to lower the rate will depend on both internal and external factors.

But now we can say that the task of reducing mortgage rates is a long-term goal of the government.

This is evidenced by the policy regarding the program at 6.5%, which is planned to be extended until the end of 2021, ”said Aksakov.

Construction incentive

Further declines in mortgage interest rates should accelerate the construction industry's recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts believe.

For seven months of 2020, Russian developers commissioned 7-8% fewer projects than in the same period of 2019.

TASS writes about this with reference to the Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing and Utilities Nikita Stasishin.

Meanwhile, experts expect that by the end of this year the values ​​may reach pre-crisis levels.

“The high demand for mortgages and the willingness of banks to fulfill the requests of citizens on favorable terms contribute to a significant increase in the sales of developers.

Such dynamics allows developers to quickly compensate for losses incurred during the self-isolation regime, "said Yegor Dakhtler, an analyst at BCS World of Investments, to RT.

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• © Maxim Blinov

At the same time, experts interviewed by RT do not expect a significant increase in housing prices in the near future.

According to Irina Radchenko, against the background of the risk of a second wave of coronavirus and fluctuations in the foreign exchange market, Russians have begun to buy real estate more often as a reliable investment, which has led to an increase in the price per square meter in recent months.

However, further price dynamics will be more restrained, the expert is sure.

“Many lots have already increased in price by about 10%, depending on the object, but the rise in price is limited.

In the long term, prices will depend on a combination of factors: incomes of citizens, the exchange rate of the national currency, the availability of attractive infrastructure projects, as well as the prolongation of subsidized programs and mortgage rates, ”Radchenko said.

According to the forecast of Alexei Krichevsky, by the end of 2020 the value of real estate in Russia may increase by a maximum of 2-3%, after which the growth of the indicator will temporarily stop.

According to experts, over the next two years, prices will be formed based on the profitability or liquidity of each project separately.