‘We have 40 people in our company, so far no one has decided to take an IT mortgage’

Since February, none of the employees of our company has gone anywhere

The point that IT specialists are is mobile employees, so they are not tied to location, has a place to be. But it is relevant if we consider the IT industry only from the point of view of pure development. But IT today is not only about those who write codes, that is, programmers directly. There may be only about 20% of the total number of employees in an IT company.

For example, a company develops the necessary programmes, creates up-to-date digital solutions, but all this needs to be sold correctly — for this, marketers, salespeople, good financial directors are needed, so that later, for example, from a small company, something more can be created. I can't imagine how, for example, a CFO can work remotely, for example, from Georgia. By the way, since February, none of the employees of our company has gone anywhere, everyone is in place, everyone works there.

Today, as a rule, it is most difficult for companies to find exactly such specialists who, for example, would simultaneously understand both marketing and digital industry. It's one thing to be able to write, create a programme, but you still have to be able to sell it. I think it will be difficult for IT companies to exist and develop without such experts.

Let's say our company is actively looking for sales managers, now it is quite problematic to find such specialists — they understand both sales and IT. There are usually at least 50% of such employees of the so-called managerial staff in the company, depending on its specifics of work.

My message is that those developers who easily move from city to city, from one country of the world to another, permanent housing, especially mortgage, in fact, do not need even at a zero rate. But those who perform all other tasks and functions in IT companies would also like to solve their housing issue on the terms of this special mortgage.

“This story doesn't suit me today”

“We have 40 people in our company, so far no one has decided to take an IT mortgage. I myself was interested in this issue, studied all its details and conditions: including in terms of the average salary, that one can only work in one company, or that one can buy an apartment only in a new building. After weighing all the pros and cons, I realised that this story does not suit me today.

The state offered an IT mortgage this spring, when the key rate was 14%. Naturally, then the purchase of housing at only 5% per annum was quite tempting. But gradually the Central Bank lowered the rate to 7,5%, and today, when other preferential rates have returned, these 5% no longer look very attractive.

IT specialists will start heating up the secondary housing market

I am quite actively interested in the real estate market, albeit from the point of view of urbanism, but there is also reference to prices. After the introduction of escrow accounts, the difference between primary and secondary housing has become less large. Previously, with shared-equity construction, even at the excavation stage, it was possible to take an apartment in a future new building at a very favourable price. The situation is different now.

At one time, they wanted to extend social mortgages to the secondary housing market, but the idea did not pass. And here the logic of the government is clear, why they bet on the primary housing — you need to build square metres, fulfill plans.

Now, according to experts, up to 40% of housing is not sold in new buildings, and they predict that this figure will only grow. How to support the market of new buildings? Extending the preferential programme to the secondary market! Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin already spoke about this some time ago. The best option is to start with IT specialists and test what will come out of it. I think IT specialists will start heating up the secondary housing market, which will be followed by the primary housing market.

“The generation is such that if they don't like something, they leave”

Another point is the binding under the terms of this mortgage to one place of work for many years. It is clear that it is impossible to work in one place, in the same company, all your life. Today, the youth, the generation is such that if they don't like something, they leave, no one stays too long. Therefore, a person can spend 2-3 months, as they say, looking around, searching, rebooting, and when the mortgage presses on you, decisions about leaving the workplace will be much more difficult to make.

But sometimes it is very difficult to find a worthwhile job in three months. I myself, as a person who does not hesitate to change the place of work, can say that three months for an adequate search is not enough. Here are 6 months — why not? Therefore, as an option, you can change the threshold value: for example, you have worked for the company for six months, you can take an IT mortgage, but in case of employment in another company or if bankruptcy suddenly happens, I think they need to keep the conditions.

“The threshold of even 120 thousand rubles is very high”

Another point that hinders the popularity of IT mortgages is the salary threshold. The threshold of even 120 thousand rubles, which was proposed by the ministry of digital development of Russia, is very high. For example, a manager of an IT company hardly earns this amount in a month. Yes, the developers themselves who write the codes get so much and even much more, but it is unlikely that managers do, at least in Tatarstan.

If they lowered the bar to 70-50 thousand rubles, it would be very good. It may also make sense to make a reference to the average salary for the subject of Russia, but with a coefficient of 1,5.

Summing up in general, I will say that this type of mortgage is quite interesting. If the Russian government listens to the voice of employees of IT sector, to the proposals of the ministry of finance and makes these and other adjustments to the IT mortgage programme, then it is quite possible that the IT mortgage will become more popular and profitable, which means that the number of those wishing to participate in it may increase significantly.