Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
| Other Photos |
 |
|
 |
Mortgage Credits Up 60% in First Half Year
The Central Bank yesterday published data on mortgage crediting in the first half of the year. With interest rates falling and credit terms expanding, the volume of credits granted reached 203 billion rubles, up 60 percent, and is expected to exceed the official prognosis of 300 billion rubles. Banks granted 240 billion rubles in mortgage credits last year, more than doubling the prognosis at the time. As of July 1, total mortgage credits amounted to 380.5 billion rubles.
The average mortgage at the beginning of this year was for 182 months at 14-percent interest. On July 1, the average is 195.8 months and 13-percent interest. The rate and term of mortgages granted in foreign currency remains practically unchanged. Such mortgages accounted for 38 percent of the market at the beginning of the year, and for 33 percent on July 1.
Analysts and the authorities agree that these trends will continue. Mortgage interest is linked to the inflation rate. With 9-percent inflation, the interest on a mortgage cannot be lower than 12-13 percent. Mortgages remain inaccessible to the majority of Russians. A real boom in mortgaging will begin when inflation is reduced to 5 percent. Twenty percent of all mortgages are granted in Moscow, with Moscow Region accounting for another 8 percent, Tyumen Region 8 percent, St. Petersburg 7 percent and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area 5 percent.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 08, 2007
|
|
|
