In 2020, every sixth mortgage borrower in Russia took out a loan online.

This is stated in a joint study by DOM.RF and VTsIOM.

The survey results are available to RT.

According to experts, in total, from January to December, about 290 thousand Russian families issued an electronic mortgage.

The indicator became the maximum for the entire observation period.

“This is largely the result of large-scale, systematic work on the digitalization of the market, which is being carried out on behalf of the President within the framework of the Housing and Urban Environment national project.

Already today, all stages of loan processing are legally allowed in a remote format, and with the development of a unified biometric system, the whole process will finally move online, to the smartphone screen, "said Mikhail Goldberg, head of the DOM.RF analytical center.

According to experts interviewed by RT, in 2020, banks accelerated the introduction of technologies for electronic registration of housing loans.

In particular, some financial institutions have begun to conduct fully remote transactions with the ability to sign documents using the phone.

“This practice is also used by developers: a reservation agreement for an apartment can be drawn up online, as well as the object of the transaction can be viewed.

This is very convenient for regional investors, who, due to the digitalization of the market, can invest in real estate without risks, without wasting time on the road to the other end of the country, "Irina Radchenko, vice president of the International Academy of Mortgage and Real Estate, told RT.

In addition, experts associate a sharp increase in the issuance of mortgages in electronic form with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, during the regime of self-isolation, Russians were forced to stay at home, and they often had to conduct real estate transactions in a remote format.

This was told to RT by Pavel Sigal, the first vice-president of the all-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized businesses "Support of Russia".

“It is due to the quarantine regime and antiquated measures in self-government bodies, the MFC, banks and other structures, the number of such transactions has grown exponentially.

Even real estate views were often carried out online - such opportunities were created during self-isolation by both developers and real estate agencies, "Sigal said in an interview with RT.

Experts believe that the number of mortgage loans issued online in Russia will continue to grow even after all quarantine restrictions have been lifted.

This will largely be facilitated by subsidized home loan programs.

First of all, we are talking about a preferential mortgage at a rate of 6.5% per annum.

As part of the initiative, Russian banks have already issued about 400 thousand loans worth 1.2 trillion rubles.

This was previously stated by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.

Recall that the preferential mortgage program at 6.5% per annum was launched in April 2020 and was originally designed for almost six months, but later the government extended its action until July 1, 2021.

You can get a loan at a reduced rate when buying apartments in new buildings 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.

“Thousands of Russians have already taken advantage of the program, and many have a chance to improve their living conditions.

At the same time, you can take a concessional loan in a remote format, which makes the service even more accessible, "said Artyom Tuzov, executive director of the capital market department at Univer Capital, to RT.

Note that the Russian authorities do not plan to completely wind down the concessional mortgage program after July 1, 2021.

So, on March 11, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Construction, together with the Central Bank, to prepare proposals for the further implementation of the initiative by mid-April.

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As the analyst of BCS World of Investments Yegor Dakhtler told RT, the provision of housing loans online allows banks to reduce operating costs.

Against this background, many financial organizations will try to popularize the service in the near future, the expert said.

In his opinion, this state of affairs will lead to an additional increase in the number of housing loans issued in electronic form.

At the same time, this method of concluding a transaction often helps borrowers to save on the purchase of housing, the specialist is sure.

“When issuing a mortgage in a remote format, banks may offer lower rates or other bonuses.

This is again due to the fact that the bank incurs much less costs when completing a transaction online than in the traditional format of interaction with clients, ”explained Yegor Dakhtler.