Mortgage lending: interest rates down, number of loans up

The average weighted interest rate for ruble-denominated mortgage loans fell to an all-time low at 11.32% in May 2017, according to statistical data, posted on the Bank of Russia website.

Banks have extended 338.6 thousand mortgage loans worth 615.3 billion rubles year to date, including 78.6 thousand in May this year, amounting to 144.5 billion rubles. With interest rates declining, annualised growth paces of the number and volume of housing mortgage lending in rubles, based on this month’s data, peaked this year to total 27.6 and 39.2% respectively.

The mortgage loan portfolio has grown 10.8% for the year to reach 4.609 trillion rubles, as of 1 June 2017. At the same time, housing mortgage lending in foreign currency continued to decline, accounting for 1.17% (54 billion rubles).