From January to August 2021, the volume of housing commissioning in Russia increased by almost a third.

This was announced on Thursday, September 23rd, by Olga Kornienko, Director of the Housing Policy Department of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Utilities.

“As of September 1, 2021, 52.4 million square meters were commissioned in Russia.

m of housing.

And this is 31% higher than the same indicator for 2020, ”said Kornienko during her speech at the forum“ Days of Municipal Governance Leaders ”.

According to her, more than 146 million square meters are currently under construction in the country.

m of housing.

The value also exceeds the same level of the previous year.

At the same time, the number of issued building permits in Russia as a whole continues to grow, Kornienko stressed.

According to Rosstat, in 2020, housing commissioning in the country increased by 0.2% and amounted to 82.2 million square meters.

m. Meanwhile, already in 2021, the value may reach 84-85 million square meters.

m. Vitaly Mutko, CEO of DOM.RF, spoke about this earlier in an interview with RT.

In his opinion, the observed growth in supply in the real estate market should have a positive effect on the cost of square meters.

“The volume of housing withdrawals on the market is growing noticeably, and now some developers, for example, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, are starting to use discount programs.

At the same time, there is no longer a strong subsidized demand in the primary market, as it was last year.

Against this background, we expect that supply and demand in the housing market will balance, prices will stabilize by the end of the year, ”Mutko said.

Recall that in 2020, the rush demand in the housing market led to a sharp rise in the price of real estate in Russia.

At the same time, since the beginning of the pandemic, the cost per square meter in the country has increased by almost 40%.

This was announced on September 22 by the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina.

“This is more than from the beginning of 2013 to 2020.

In seven years, the cost increased by 33%, then in almost a year and a half by 39%, ”Nabiullina said during her speech at the Federation Council.

The demand for apartments during the pandemic rose sharply due to several factors, said Konstantin Aprelev, vice president of the Russian Guild of Realtors.

First of all, we are talking about the weakening of the ruble in 2020, the growth of inflationary risks and the decrease in the key rate of the Central Bank, which made mortgages cheaper.

“In addition, preferential mortgage programs have appeared.

In turn, deposit rates fell significantly, as a result of which some Russians began to invest in real estate in order to preserve their savings.

Demand began to grow rapidly, followed by prices, which is generally logical, "Aprelev added in an interview with RT.

Note that in 2020, to support the economy during a pandemic, the Bank of Russia lowered the key rate to 4.5% per annum - the minimum level for the entire post-Soviet period.

Against this background, the average mortgage rate at some point dropped to 7.23% per annum, and the maximum interest on deposits in the ten largest banks - to 4.3% per annum.

However, since the beginning of 2021, the Central Bank began to raise the key rate to curb inflation in the country.

Due to the actions of the Central Bank, the average interest on mortgages rose to 7.67% per annum, and the rate on deposits - up to 6.15% per annum.

“Considering all this, it can be assumed that at the end of this year, prices will no longer grow at the same rapid pace as in 2020.

According to our estimates, the rate of rise in prices for housing will be two times lower than in the previous year, ”stressed Konstantin Aprelev.

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The dynamics of prices for building materials also has an impact on the cost of square meters in Russia.

Pavel Sigal, vice president of the all-Russian public organization for small and medium-sized businesses "Support of Russia", spoke about this in a conversation with RT.

“The rise in housing prices is also due to an increase in the costs of developers who had to purchase building materials at a new cost.

Since the beginning of 2021, metal has risen in price by 50-70%, cement and brick - by 30%, and wood has grown in price two to three times, ”the expert noted.

However, in his opinion, in the coming months the situation with prices will begin to stabilize, and already in 2022 the rate of rise in prices for real estate in Russia may fall to the level of inflation.

A similar point of view is shared by the head of the analytical department of AMarkets Artyom Deev.

“If the costs of construction companies begin to decline, it will also allow them to reduce prices per square meter.

At the same time, it is possible that by the New Year, many developers will begin traditional advertising campaigns, when Russians are invited to buy housing at discounts, "the analyst added in an interview with RT.