The Central Bank proposed to curtail the preferential mortgage program

"The preferential program should be phased out so as not to lead to excessive risks. It is important to monitor the dynamics of housing prices - in recent years they have grown quite rapidly, in part, on the background of mortgage growth, partly due to insufficient supply of housing", - RIA Novosti quotes the words of Danilova.

The head of the department pointed out that at present a large share of the issuance of preferential mortgages falls on the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, in which there is an increased price pressure, that is, Moscow, the Moscow Region, St. Petersburg, the Leningrad Region and the Krasnodar Territory.

Danilova stressed that the investment demand for housing is quite large, that is, wealthy citizens are investing in real estate against the backdrop of decreasing mortgage rates and rising prices. Thus, the goal of the program - “to make housing available to the general public” - is not being achieved.

Last year, we note that the crisis did not prevent Russians from taking out mortgage loans for record amounts. In total, 1.7 million mortgages were issued in the amount of 4.3 trillion rubles during the year, which was the absolute maximum of the market.

At the same time, Russian realtors predict a 20% rise in house prices in 2021. Experts, like Danilova, point out that the dynamics was facilitated by the introduction of preferential mortgages, the pandemic itself - the Russians were forced to solve the housing issue in a short time, as well as the weakening of the ruble. Against the background of instability in the foreign exchange market, real estate turned out to be an obvious choice for saving savings.

It's worth reminding that the program was launched as an anti-crisis measure in the spring of 2020. Initially, its validity was planned until November 1, 2020, but was extended until July 1, 2021.