Experts assessed the prospect of launching a partial alternative to mortgage programs
The authorities in Russia want to launch housing deposits next year. The corresponding bill received a positive response from the government; it was approved by the State Duma in the first reading. This was announced by the head of the financial market committee of the lower house of parliament, Anatoly Aksakov. Experts told MK whether housing deposits will be in demand, how they will differ from ordinary deposits and whether they will help make housing more affordable for the population.
Recently, Deputy Minister of Finance Ivan Chebeskov confirmed the completion of the preferential mortgage program from July 1. Prior to this, high-ranking officials discussed the option of tightening the requirements for family mortgages, which it was decided to maintain, but, in particular, it was proposed to increase the rate from 6% to 12% for families with children over 6 years old. Let us remind you that market mortgage rates today average 16.5-18%, that is, more than twice as high as preferential rates. Only an extremely limited number of wealthy Russians can afford such an expensive pleasure as a housing loan in our country. And so that in the future the housing market does not fall into stagnation after the abandonment of preferential programs, the authorities are trying to create possible alternatives.
Housing deposits should be considered as one of them. According to Aksakov, the State Duma will adopt the final version of the corresponding bill this year, and it will come into force in 2025. Funds up to 10 million rubles will be insured on housing deposits (and for ordinary deposits, insurance coverage is only 1.4 million rubles). These savings can only be used to purchase real estate in full or to make a down payment when applying for a mortgage. And since banks are interested in attracting long-term deposits, it is assumed that they will be able to offer Russians higher interest rates on them.
“Housing deposits can make housing more affordable for almost a third of Russians who want to solve their housing problem,” says Rustam Azizov, director of mortgage sales and implementation of financial instruments at A101 Group of Companies. — Now the main problem for almost 30% of developers’ clients is the difficulty in saving for a down payment. About 10% of those who come to sales offices for the first time for advice are not able to collect the required amount in the required time frame. For about another 20% of potential buyers, the search for funds is associated with too onerous decisions or long savings.”
Housing deposits can become more attractive thanks to the combined efforts of banks and developers. The latter could offer reservations for the selected apartment before the expiration of the housing deposit, and banks could combine housing savings agreements with their mortgage programs in order to fix for borrowers the amount, term and mortgage rate at the time of conclusion of the contract, the expert believes.
< p>Housing deposits for Russians will also be functionally more convenient. According to financial markets expert Nikolai Solabuto, the main advantage of such savings is increased deposit insurance. Citizens will not need to transfer deposits to different banks. In fact, we are talking about accumulating large sums without risks for their owners.
True, not all options of this financial instrument are so comfortable. As Anna Kokoreva, an expert on the stock market at BCS World of Investments, pointed out, for Russians the big disadvantage of housing deposits is that the life situation of their owners may change and the funds will be needed for other purposes — for example, for expensive treatment. But it is no longer possible to take the money and spend it in any other way, and if it is possible, it will most likely result in loss of interest.
Another question that arises in relation to these deposits is: what exactly will be the rate on them. “If we open a long-term deposit at the start of this program with the Central Bank key rate of 16% and the bank gives us 17-18% per annum, will it remain throughout the entire storage period or will it be tied to a change in the key?” — asks financial expert Alexey Krichevsky.
However, the main problem of affordability of the housing market in Russia is still the cost per square meter and housing deposits alone cannot solve it. “Such a deposit will be of significant help only if the rates on it are an order of magnitude higher than on standard deposits,” emphasizes Oleg Repchenko, head of the Analytical Center “Real Estate Market Indicators”. “Otherwise, in the current situation of rising prices, you simply won’t be able to save up for apartments using a deposit: square meters in large cities of the country have approximately doubled in price over the past 3-4 years, outstripping inflation and interest on deposits.” Today, the main reason for the decline in housing affordability is high prices. Therefore, it is more important to eliminate the factors of this growth, to work to increase supply, which will increase competition among developers and put pressure on prices, and not to invent alternative ways of purchasing and saving for abnormally expensive apartments, the analyst concluded.