"Additional Opportunities for Citizens": Russian authorities have updated the terms of preferential mortgage programs

On Thursday, March 9, the Russian government announced the easing of conditions for issuing subsidized loans for the purchase of housing.

The changes affected preferential, family, Far Eastern and IT mortgages.

The need to improve these programs was previously stated by President Vladimir Putin.

“One of our unconditional priorities is the construction of housing and improving the living conditions of citizens.

Here, a special role is assigned to the development of the mortgage market, including programs with state participation, ”Putin emphasized.

Now participants of all four preferential programs can apply for a loan for the purchase of finished real estate from closed-end investment funds (UIFs).

According to the Cabinet, the decision will provide additional opportunities for citizens and developers.

As Irina Radchenko, vice president of the International Academy of Mortgage and Real Estate, told RT, Russian developers usually use mutual funds as an alternative to escrow accounts.

The escrow system was launched in 2019 and is designed to secure transactions in the housing market.

As part of this mechanism, the money for the purchase of real estate is stored in a special bank account, and the developer can receive it only after the facility is put into operation.

It is assumed that the contractor conducts construction work at the expense of bank loans.

Against this background, according to Radchenko, many developers began to organize closed-end investment funds and raise money not to a bank escrow account, but to their own.

Thus, developers can immediately use clients' money to build houses.

“Now about half of the housing we have built has not found a buyer, and some of these objects were registered through mutual funds.

It is clear that the demand for this property needs to be increased in order to avoid overstocking the market.

At the same time, according to the innovations approved by the authorities, beneficiaries will be allowed to buy from mutual funds only apartments in finished objects.

So it’s safe, there are no risks here, ”the RT interlocutor explained.

Along with this, the government allowed parents of children with disabilities to apply for a family mortgage to buy ready-made housing in the secondary market.

Residents of regions where there is no construction of apartment buildings will be able to take advantage of this opportunity.

As Irina Radchenko noted, in recent years, in some not very profitable territories of Russia with a low demand for housing, the pace of construction has noticeably decreased.

Moreover, large developers are also reluctant to go to a number of regions.

As a result, today only a third of all subjects of the country can confidently declare the permanent construction of new houses.

“Therefore, Russians can now use preferential mortgages, in fact, only in those large cities where construction is underway.

This is discrimination.

It turns out that families with disabled children are deprived of the opportunity to buy housing on preferential terms only because they live in a small town.

From this point of view, the government’s initiative can be called correct,” the expert added.

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• © Bulkin Sergey

In addition, the innovations approved by the Cabinet of Ministers affect participants in the special military operation and those called up as part of partial mobilization.

As part of a preferential mortgage for the construction or purchase of a private house, they will have access to a deferral for registering rights to such an object.

In turn, when applying for a Far Eastern mortgage, the military will be able later than under standard conditions to register at the address of the purchased or built residential premises.

“Those who serve in the war zone do not have the opportunity to deal with paperwork to register rights to housing on a preferential mortgage.

These actions are usually limited in time.

Therefore, it is important for this category of citizens to provide a delay in registration, which will facilitate the paperwork procedures, ”Vladimir Kovalev, an analyst at TeleTrade, explained to RT.

Positive for borrowers

In general, the expansion of the terms of preferential mortgage programs will increase the number of transactions using borrowed funds and revive the Russian real estate market.

This opinion was shared in an interview with RT by the first vice-president of the all-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized businesses "Support of Russia" Pavel Sigal.

According to the expert, in the spring the issuance of housing loans in the country may increase by 6-8%.

“First of all, the actions of the authorities have a positive effect on borrowers: citizens can purchase an apartment on more favorable terms and close one of the most important issues.

At the same time, we can see another positive effect - stimulating the construction industry.

Preferential programs will allow developers to maintain demand for the purchase of their own housing,” said Segal.

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• © Denis Voronin

Recall that under the terms of a preferential mortgage, today all residents of the country can apply for a loan to purchase real estate at a reduced rate of 8% per annum.

As part of the family mortgage, Russians with one child born in 2018 and later, as well as parents with at least two children under the age of 18, have the opportunity to take a loan at 6% (5% for the Far Eastern Federal District when a child is born with January 1, 2019).

Both programs provide for the issuance of a loan for the purchase of finished housing from a developer or an apartment in a house under construction, for the construction of a private house on their own or under a contract, as well as for the purchase of a land plot for the construction of summer cottages, cottages or townhouses.

At the same time, a family mortgage allows residents of the Far Eastern Federal District to buy a secondary housing.

You can get a preferential or family mortgage when buying real estate worth up to 12 million rubles in the Moscow and St. Petersburg agglomerations and up to 6 million rubles in other regions of the country.

Citizens can also take loans in the amount of up to 30 million and 15 million rubles, respectively, but the subsidized rate will only apply to amounts up to 12 million and 6 million.

The Far Eastern Mortgage Program allows residents of the Far Eastern Federal District to obtain a housing loan at 2% per annum in the amount of no more than 6 million rubles.

This money can also be spent on the purchase of finished housing or real estate in a house under construction and on the construction of a private house on its own or under a contract.

In addition, program participants can purchase secondary housing in rural areas and in single-industry towns in the Far East.

At the same time, Russian IT workers can take out a mortgage at 5% per annum.

To obtain such a loan in regions with a population of less than 1 million people, the income of a specialist must exceed 70 thousand rubles per month (before deducting personal income tax), in larger constituent entities of the Russian Federation - 120 thousand rubles, and in Moscow - 150 thousand rubles.

In the first case, the maximum amount of a subsidized loan will be 9 million rubles, and in the rest - 18 million. The money can be used for the same purposes as under the preferential mortgage program.

It is noteworthy that under the terms of programs with state support, a reduced interest rate will be valid for the entire term of the loan.

The difference between the market and preferential rates is reimbursed by the state to banks.