Preferential mortgage programmes boost demand for housing
Government support measures provided at federal and regional levels, primarily the preferential mortgage programme at 6.5%, provided key support to the construction market amid the coronavirus pandemic. This is the topic of the recent issue of the analytical note Housing Construction.
January—May 2020 saw a slowdown in the growth of the portfolio of housing loans (including mortgage ones). However, in June—July, activity in the Russian mortgage market picked up again. In addition to 6.5 Programme, its recovery was assisted by the easing of price and non-price lending conditions, as well as additional support measures for the regional demand for housing. Active government support for housing construction and the development of the project financing mechanism were instrumental for maintaining broadly stable situation in the construction industry.
According to the authors of the note, the near-term dynamics of housing construction will be predominantly shaped by further decisions on government measures aimed at supporting demand for housing, as well as the ability of the construction industry to reciprocate this demand with the commissioning of new housing.