Russians took out record number of housing loans before preferential mortgages were cancelled

In the last month before the end of the preferential mortgage, Russians took out 777.2 billion rubles in housing loans. This is 44% more than in the previous month, May, analysts from Frank RG reported. The statistics were cited by RBC. The last time such volumes of issuance were observed was last year, eight months ago.

In total, Russian banks approved almost 177 thousand mortgage loans in June: 33% more than in May. The main reason for the borrowers' activity is that state-sponsored programs with rates of 6% and 8% ceased to operate on July 1.

The average housing loan amount set an absolute record for the decade in June: 4.4 million rubles.

The last time such a surge of interest in preferential mortgage bank loans was observed was in September-November 2023 (issuance volumes of 770 billion rubles per month on average). Interest rates on loans grew after the Bank of Russia raised the key rate - and changed the terms of preferential state programs.

The conditions began to tighten in December: the minimum down payment for new buildings (mortgage at 8%) increased from 20% to 30%, and the maximum loan amount became the same for all regions - 6 million rubles. Until December 23, for Moscow and St. Petersburg, the amount was 12 million. Family mortgage (at 6%, also for new buildings) remained virtually untouched until July 1.

In total, from the beginning of the year until July 1, Russians borrowed 2.78 trillion rubles to buy housing. This is almost two times less than in the previous six months.

The government promised to extend the mortgage for families with children after July 1, but no documents have appeared yet.

The share of loans with state support in the first half of the year reached 70%, according to data from the state corporation "Dom.RF". Only 15% of Russians can now afford to buy an apartment, according to Alexey Zubets, a professor at the Financial University under the Government. According to him, 3% of Russians can make such a purchase without a loan.

Banks are now offering mortgages at 17% per annum and higher. The preferential mortgage program was created to support developers and manufacturers of building materials shortly after the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Several years later, state mortgage programs, the government and the Central Bank complained, began to increasingly contribute to the indebtedness of Russians.

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