The Central Bank forecasts the average key rate by the end of the year in the range of 19.5-21.5%

The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Russia has decided to keep the key rate at 21.00% per annum. This is stated in the press release of the regulator on April 25.

It is noted that currently inflationary pressure continues to trend downward, although it remains high. According to the operational data of the bank's specialists, the economy has begun to gradually return to a balanced growth trajectory, adds "Газета.Ru ".

"Under the baseline scenario, this assumes an average key rate in the range of 19.5–21.5% per annum in 2025 and 13.0–14.0% per annum in 2026," the Central Bank of the Russian Federation said.

For 2027, the Bank of Russia also maintained the forecast of the average key rate at 7.5-8.5%. Further rate decisions will depend on the speed and sustainability of the decline in inflation expectations.

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Experts expect a shift to monetary policy easing

After the meeting of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on the key interest rate, Artur Akhmetov, head of the Mortgage, Insurance and Transaction Services business at Avito, told Izvestia about its impact on the current situation in the residential real estate market in Russia.

He noted that maintaining the key rate of 21% per annum would not have a significant impact on the cost of finished housing. The prices of real transactions can range from 1 to 3%. The average loan amount for secondary housing has decreased: at the beginning of 2025, it is about 2.6 million rubles.