In the first quarter, the share of overdue debt in mortgages in the Siberian Federal District (SFD) amounted to 0.9%, while for the same period a year earlier it reached 1.4%, the press service of the National Collection Service (NCS) told Vedomosti.

The volume of overdue mortgage debt in the Siberian Federal District as of April 1 was 3.7 billion rubles. Since the beginning of the year, it has decreased by 100 million rubles, or 2.6%, and over the year since April 1, 2013 - by 800 million rubles.

The situation in the Siberian Federal District differs from the Russian situation for the better: in the country, problematic mortgage debt has grown by an average of 2.5% from 40 billion to 41 billion rubles compared to the first quarter of 2013, the share of overdue debt has grown by 1.4%, reported Sergey Shpeter, Senior Vice President of the National Mortgage Corporation, through the press service.

The highest share of overdue mortgages is among borrowers from Omsk Oblast (1.5%), the lowest - in Zabaikalsky Krai (0.2%), according to the NSV response. In absolute terms, borrowers from Novosibirsk Oblast owe the most - 784 million rubles (1%), the least - residents of the Altai Republic - 12 million rubles (0.9%).

At the same time, the NSV asserts that Siberia has the lowest growth rates of mortgage lending: in the first quarter of 2014 - 4% compared to last year's January - March, in Russia - 5.9%.

The slowdown in the growth rate of the mortgage lending market is a nationwide trend, says Yuri Gribanov, managing partner of Frank Research Group. The Agency for Mortgage and Housing Lending (AHML) predicts that in 2014 the growth in the volume of loans issued will fall to 7.7-23% compared to 31% in 2013. "The current situation is characterized by an increase in hidden risks, the implementation of which may lead in the future not only to a halt in the growth of the mortgage market, but also to the beginning of its contraction," says the AHML review. According to Gribanov, the mortgage market has so far felt this to a lesser extent than, for example, the unsecured retail lending market, the growth rate of which in 2013 fell almost in half: from 48.4% to 29.4%.

The leader in mortgage lending, Siberian Sberbank, estimates its share of this market in five serviced entities of the Siberian Federal District (Novosibirsk, Kemerovo and Tomsk Regions, Altai Krai, Altai Republic) at 49%, in Novosibirsk Region - at 41% (data as of January 1). In January - March, Sberbank issued 1.5 times more mortgage loans compared to January - March 2013, in money - 63% more, the bank's response says. At the same time, in Novosibirsk Region, Sberbank's mortgage portfolio grew by 85%, this is the highest figure.

In the first quarter, VTB 24's mortgage portfolio in Novosibirsk Oblast grew by 1.57 billion rubles, or 86%, compared to the same period last year, the bank's press service reported. "The factor of unsatisfied demand is still in effect," the bank's response noted.

Siberians Reduce Problem Debts