In 2021, the volume of investments in real estate in Russia may grow by 17% compared to 2020 and reach a record 300 billion rubles.

This is the conclusion reached by analysts of the international consulting company Knight Frank.

According to experts, over the past six years, investments in Russian real estate have practically doubled.

So, back in 2015, the total investment amounted to 167 billion rubles.

Moreover, according to experts' forecast, in 2022 the figure may additionally grow - up to 320 billion.

According to Knight Frank, the growth in real estate investments is observed both in Moscow and in the regions of the country.

At the end of 2021, the volume of investments in capital assets may increase by 19.8% - up to 210 billion rubles, and in regional - by 10.8% billion, up to 90 billion rubles.

“After the uncertainty of 2020, in 2021 there is a stable positive dynamics of investor activity, which allows us to predict high annual results.

At the end of this year and in 2022, there will be an active demand for sites for development, ”said Alexey Novikov, Managing Partner of the Russian branch of the company.

Most often, investors purchase sites for the construction of residential buildings.

This market segment accounts for 63% of the total investment volume, according to data from Knight Frank.

Developers are buying up land for the construction of apartment buildings amid still high demand for real estate from Russians.

Pyotr Pushkarev, chief analyst of TeleTrade Group, shared this opinion in a conversation with RT.

“In 2020, Russia had rather low deposit rates, which prompted citizens to invest more actively in square meters.

Now the profitability on deposits has grown significantly, but for many, real estate still looks like a more promising way to protect serious savings from inflation, ”the specialist explained.

In addition, Russian interest in the housing market is fueled by the country's preferential lending programs, experts say.

In particular, today in Russia you can get a loan for the purchase of housing in a new building worth not more than 3 million rubles at a rate of up to 7% per annum.

In turn, families with one or more children born after January 1, 2018 have the opportunity to take out a mortgage at 6% per annum.

In this case, the maximum loan amount depends on the region: for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Leningrad regions, it is 12 million rubles, and for other subjects of the country - 6 million rubles.

“Benefit programs have allowed a huge number of families to improve their living conditions.

In part, the market started to move after the Central Bank's monetary policy easing, as loans to the population became cheaper.

Now the regulator has already changed course and is raising the key rate, but mortgages are still available to most Russians, "Pavel Sigal, First Vice President of the All-Russian Public Organization for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Opora Rossii, said in a conversation with RT.

Market balance

Recall that in 2020, to support the economy and business during the pandemic, the Bank of Russia confidently reduced the key rate and lowered it from 6.25 to 4.25% per annum - the minimum level for the entire post-Soviet period.

However, since the beginning of 2021, as part of the fight against inflation, the Central Bank began to raise the key rate and raised it to 7.5% per annum.

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

Against this background, since the beginning of 2021, the average interest on mortgages for new buildings in the 15 largest banks in the country has grown from 7.9 to 9.03% per annum.

This is evidenced by the data of the analytical center "DOM.RF".

Nevertheless, due to the action of preferential programs, demand for real estate in Russia may remain above forecasts in 2022, says Anton Bykov, senior analyst at Esperio.

According to him, in these conditions, Russian developers will continue to increase the volume of new housing and accelerate the pace of construction.

  • RIA News

  • © Andrey Popov

Note that according to the latest estimates of Rosstat, in the first nine months of 2021, the volume of housing commissioned in the country increased by 30% compared to the same period in 2020 and reached 62.7 million square meters.

Moreover, according to the estimates of the authorities, by the end of the current year the value may exceed 85 million.

According to Anton Bykov, the observed growth in supply and a simultaneous increase in mortgage rates can stabilize the situation with real estate prices.

Moreover, the specialist admits the likelihood of a decrease in the cost of housing at the beginning of 2022.

“It is not excluded that prices will begin to decline already in winter, as this is traditionally a period of market cooling.

Moreover, the industry is now experiencing overheating, so the price adjustment may turn out to be stronger than usual, "Bykov suggested.

Nevertheless, after the winter period, prices may partially recover, says Pyotr Pushkarev.

In his opinion, in the future, the cost per square meter will remain at the level of 2021.

“The fact is that developers need to fight off their increased costs for materials, fuel, escrow loans and labor, which also became more expensive after a large number of migrants from neighboring countries left home.

Therefore, after the end of the season of pre-New Year discounts, housing prices will return to the values ​​of the last months, ”the specialist concluded.