The expert spoke about the easing of credit conditions

Russian banks have adapted to the current market conditions and have become more loyal to customers, which has led to a 40% increase in mortgage loan approvals compared to the previous five months. Yulia Arkhangelskaya, head of the Mortgage lending department at Mangazeya, told Izvestia about this on March 20.

Among the first positive changes, individual banks, considered trendsetters in the mortgage sector, began to cautiously reduce interest rates by 2-4%. At the end of last month, they maintained an average market rate of 28%, but now they offer loans at a rate of 24-25%. The largest banks in mortgage lending are not in a hurry to actively reduce the rate and leave the indicator at the level of 27-28% in standard mortgage programs.

"Positive dynamics is also observed when clients go through underwriting systems: by the end of March, the process was simplified by 15-20% compared to the period from October last year to February 2025. So, at the end of last year, there were cases on the market when clients were refused with a transparent income of 700 thousand rubles and an initial payment of 60%. Today, depending on the program, approval can be easily obtained with a minimum initial payment of 30% and a salary 1.5 times lower," the expert noted.

In addition, banks have cautiously resumed the policy of issuing mortgages based on two documents. So far, such options are available only to salary clients of banks and under standard programs, however, the return to simplified verification schemes indicates the availability of credit and, consequently, the possibility of purchasing housing.

"Against the background of slow declines in deposit rates, citizens are trying to find more profitable ways to manage their funds, and they are increasingly deciding to unpack their savings from bank accounts and invest in real estate. Under the current conditions, such an investment is one of the most attractive options to exit deposits with a good profit and increase your capital through further investments in real estate," Arkhangelsk summed up.

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Earlier, on January 27, experts from the analytics and consulting department of VSN Group told Izvestia that the share of mortgage transactions with apartments in new buildings of comfort and business classes decreased significantly in December 2024: for example, the decrease was 8% compared to November, and a record compared to December 2023. 47%.