The Central Bank opposed the "magic" mortgage, the developers said that then everything would collapse

Ekaterina Maksimova

Experts from Elvira Nabiullina 's department explain that extremely low rates under the programs of "preferential mortgages from developers" are achieved by overpricing an apartment by the amount of a commission (up to 20-30%), which is paid to the bank by the developer to compensate for shortfalls in income.

“Preferential mortgages from the developer are advertised as beneficial for the borrower, but despite the apparent benefit in the form of lower monthly payments, the borrower takes the main risk due to the overpricing of the acquired property,” the CBR reports.

The document of the Central Bank describes in detail what risks a real estate buyer takes on when he agrees to developers' offers to buy an apartment in a new building at an almost zero percentage - 0.01% per annum. Here are the main arguments of the regulator:

- the inability to sell real estate on the secondary market without loss, that is, at the same price at which it was purchased, unless real estate prices have increased by 30% during the time of ownership.

- if the borrower, for some reason, cannot service the mortgage loan and the bank forcibly begins to collect the debt, then the borrower will completely lose the down payment. Moreover, the proceeds from the sale of such an apartment are not enough to pay off all the debt.

-reducing interest payments on a loan affects the tax deduction on interest, which reduces the total benefit for the borrower.

Realtors have previously warned about the danger of a “free” mortgage for the primary real estate market, where the price bubble has already inflated. Novye Izvestia also reported that such a marketing ploy from developers has become the locomotive of the primary property market.

From the report of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation it follows that the agency is ready to complicate the issuance of risky mortgages. Why macroprudential and regulatory measures will be applied.

Developers, in turn, predict that the “war” declared by the Central Bank will halve the volume of mortgage lending. Developers also believe that it is necessary to start saving the market by lowering bank rates.

Nadezhda Korkka, managing partner of Metrium:

-Now, as in September, the combined preferential mortgage with a subsidy from the developer in most major banks is about 50% of all subsidized housing loans. Accordingly, the demand may be reduced by half. Behind low rates from developers, there may indeed be an increase in the final cost of an apartment by 10-20%. However, banks and developers notify borrowers of the increased amount of overpayment.

If the regulator sets the lowest possible rate or increases the premiums for issuing such a mortgage, then the low monthly payment may become a thing of the past, and property values \u200b\u200bcould rise. Prohibitive measures can seriously harm the market.

Iskander Yusupov, Deputy General Director of the development company Unistroy:

- We understand the disadvantages of this program from the point of view of the Central Bank, and partly they are justified. But at the same time, you need to understand that such programs are born by banks and developers just to increase the affordability of housing. As an alternative, in order not to have to resort to such emergency measures as a 0.1% mortgage, we see an increase in the amount of a mortgage loan with state support. On a loan of 6 million rubles in million-plus cities, people can afford only 1-room apartments. Increasing the loan amount to 9-10 million will make it possible to involve in the program with state support a more family segment of customers who choose 2-3-room apartments.

Vladimir Shchekin, co-owner of the Rodina Group (developer of the residential cultural and educational cluster Russian Design District):

- The Central Bank fulfills its role as a regulator of the monetary system, competent specialists work there, who make decisions consciously. At the same time, in my opinion, taking away from developers one tool to attract customers, the Central Bank should offer alternatives that, in its opinion, can support demand for loans. One way or another, the question of lowering mortgage rates is already overdue. Housing prices have risen by 40-60% in two years, and now the market level of mortgage rates no longer corresponds to the real financial capabilities of potential borrowers. We need to further ease monetary policy so that the market does not stop.

Anna Terekhova, head of the sales department of the development company Marmax:

-According to our forecasts, such an innovation could reduce the number of transactions by about 30%. This is due to the fact that the current standard mortgage rates, as well as state-supported mortgages, cannot reduce the financial burden on the client's monthly payment to the necessary extent.

Developers also unanimously point out that a mortgage with a subsidized rate from the developer is also a serious marketing tool. It allows them to compete with each other and attract customers. And in a crisis, you can attract customers to the market only with very tempting offers, and one of them is a cheap mortgage.

Developers believe that since they are deprived of such a tool, they will look for other ways to attract buyers and more often resort to special offers and discounts, and their range will expand significantly.

According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, from January to August, the mortgage portfolio of Russians grew by 9.7% and the total debt of citizens is 13 trillion rubles. Over the eight months of this year, mortgage lenders borrowed 2.7 trillion rubles from banks (3.6 trillion in the same period in 2021). The regulator expects "some slowdown in mortgage issuance." "This is mainly due to a decrease in demand for residential real estate due to general uncertainty and a more cautious approach of the population to investing funds, and banks - to the selection of borrowers," the Central Bank said in today's report.