‘The issue can be resolved’: where to get a family mortgage on the same or acceptable terms?

Who stopped issuing family mortgages

Since last year, Russian banks have repeatedly suspended issuing loans under mortgage programmes with state support: family, IT and rural mortgages. Banks cited the fact that they had exhausted the allocated limits, it was necessary to redistribute the remaining quotas and allocate a new tranche.

This September, Sberbank, Rosselkhozbank, Uralsib, Post Bank and T-Bank suspended the issuance of family mortgages. As the newspaper’s correspondent was convinced, in October, Sber began to accept and even approve applications, but so far without issuing money. Uralsib also informed clients interested in the programme that it had begun accepting applications: “but we are not issuing mortgages yet,” the creditor warned, the bank's down payment increased to 30%.

As Realnoe Vremya found out, Promsvyazbank, Moscow Credit Bank, UBRIR and RNKB also suspended issuing family mortgages due to exhaustion of limits. The latter stated that they would resume work under the program for borrowers in Crimea and Sevastopol from 14 October.

Meanwhile, other banks authorised to work in the programme, Otkritie Bank (merged with VTB) and Rosbank (merged with T-Bank) have stopped accepting applications for mortgage products altogether: the former since January, the latter since July 2024.)

The limit for the family mortgage programme for the regions is set at 6 million rubles, so if the property is more expensive, the difference will have to be issued as part of a combo mortgage. For example, an apartment costs 10 million rubles, then for 6 million of this amount you can take out a preferential mortgage at 6%, for the remaining 4 million you will be given a loan at a market rate — on average from 22% and higher.

Where to get a family mortgage at 6%

Among the banks authorised to work with family mortgages, there are banks that continue to issue preferential loans under the programme for the purchase of new buildings. However, many of them have changed the terms, tightening the requirements for borrowers. Thus, in VTB, Sovcombank and Absolut Bank the initial payment was raised to 50.1%, Metallinvestbank — to 40%, Alfa-Bank, Gazprombank and Severgazbank — to 30%.

“The conditions of banks are different, they do not suit everyone”

“We are currently cooperating with 10 banks that issue family mortgages. The terms of issue are different for everyone and depend on the internal policy of each bank. Some issue family mortgages on the original terms, some ask for an initial payment increased to 30-50%, and some require that the buyer's money not be sent immediately to the developer's escrow accounts, but lie in the letter of credit for several months. There are also banks that charge developers a commission for issuing such a mortgage, but their rate is lower — 5.5-5.6%,” said Director of Mortgage Sales and Implementation of Financial Instruments at A101 Group Rustam Azizov.

According to him, this has a good effect on demand for the programme, even if the apartment is slightly more expensive. The main thing for buyers is not the cost of the apartment, but the size of the mortgage payment, he added. At the same time, the conditions for issuing a family mortgage may change again in 2025 when new limits appear, the developer warned:

“This year, there were not enough limits, most likely due to the unpredictably high popularity of this programme among the population. Against the background of the cancellation of preferential mortgages throughout the country and IT mortgages — for Moscow and St Petersburg, family mortgages have taken up to 70% of the market in Russia. This is the most popular program today. There is hope that the experience of 2024 will be taken into account when determining the limits for 2025. However, given the high key rate, individual conditions of this program may be revised.”

In Tatarstan, most banks continue to issue loans for family mortgages, market players confirm. Borrowers are trying to choose the most optimal conditions of participation in the programme.

In addition, the size of the rate on a family mortgage from the same bank may differ depending on which developer you buy an apartment from, the expert added. “Let's say with one developer 6% without any increase in price, for another — 5.5% — this is already considered a subsidised rate. In this case, there is an increase in the cost of the apartment from the developer,” he explained. Therefore, it is often a complex work — choosing a real estate object, a bank participating in the programme.

Despite the tightening conditions, clients, according to realtors, continue to be interested in the programme for purchasing housing under construction, and the situation on the real estate market is now slightly better than in July-August. Perhaps, the seasonal factor is at play. Although, of course, it cannot be compared with last year's figures, the newspaper’s interlocutors say.

The list of banks participating in the family mortgage programme is compiled by DOM.RF JSC, a financial institution for development in the Russian housing sector and a single operator of preferential mortgage programs with state support. The list includes 70 credit institutions, but five are not active.

According to DOM.RF, in September, 199 billion rubles were issued as family mortgages in Russia, which is comparable to the figures for May. In total, banks still have the capacity to issue another 356 billion rubles under the programme. Experts believe that these funds will be enough until the end of the year. Meanwhile, large banks also promise to resume issuing family mortgages in the near future — the limits in the programme have already been redistributed, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said these days at parliamentary hearings.