Banks ramp up lending to developers
In 2022 Q3, equity construction participants placed 4.1 trillion rubles in escrow accounts. Amounts credited to escrow accounts rose to 785 billion rubles thanks to a partial recovery in demand for housing. Also, 552 billion rubles were released from escrow accounts in relation to commissioned properties, which appeared substantial.
Backed by the launch of numerous new projects, the portfolio of loans to developers gained 21% over the quarter and reached 4.3 trillion rubles, accounting for 8% of the total corporate loan portfolio. The coverage of developers’ outstanding loans by escrow accounts turned out to be below 100% for the first time since November 2020. Over the three months, the amount of credit limits increased by unprecedented 2.3 trillion rubles to 11.1 trillion rubles.
More details on financing trends in equity construction are available in the review Project Finance in Housing Construction in 2022 Q3.