Sales table: developers and buyers refuse installments for housing
The market of installments for the purchase of real estate is rapidly "collapsing", the share of such lots from developers in the market of new buildings decreased by 15-25% by the beginning of autumn, Izvestia found out. This tool is no longer popular both in the mass segment and in the premium segment — buyers are gradually returning to the usual mortgage. Izvestia complained that often installment contracts are offered with a gradual increase in the cost of an apartment, or they include clauses that protect only the developer. Experts are confident that such a format may soon disappear or be significantly reduced, as it carries increased risks for the buyer in case of late payment. About the dangers of buying an apartment in this way — in the material of Izvestia.
Why installments have lost popularity
The delinquency market has significantly subsided, Izvestia found out after interviewing several dozen realtors and developers. The drop is most noticeable in the mass segment: if at the beginning of the year a third of Russian developers used this tool in one form or another, then by autumn the number of such offers had decreased. Now their share is only 10% of the total market.
The situation is similar in premium projects, but it is not changing so quickly: now 30% of developers offer installments, whereas at the beginning of the year there were about 50% of them. For example, in the sales structure of the Rodina Group, from January to August 2025, 49% of transactions were made using installments. At the same time, 71% of buyers used it for the same period in 2024.
"Installments are a fairly convenient and flexible tool, but they are not a permanent solution," said Anton Wiener, co—owner and co—founder of the company. — The development of the new building segment is possible only with an increase in household incomes and a decrease in mortgage rates. Everything else is temporary measures that supported market activity.
In his opinion, as the market moves towards stabilization, the number of mortgage transactions will begin to grow.
— In August, we already saw that the volume of mortgage issuance for the first time since the end of the state program of preferential loans at 8% exceeded the level of last year, — said Anton Viner.
January 2025 was the peak period for the sale of apartments on the primary market using installments, when their share was 29.9%. By September, it had already dropped to 9%, and for the first half of October it remained at 7.7%, added Tatyana Reshetnikova, deputy head of the mortgage department at the federal company Etagi.
"There are a lot of factors reducing the share of installments in the market now," she said. — First of all, it is the caution of the developers themselves, who are faced with a series of late payments, which is why they began to limit the share of this tool in sales. Secondly— there was a period when some buyers made installments based on emotions and did not take into account the risks of putting the cost of providing it into the cost of the facility.
Denis Zhalnin, CEO of the People development company, confirmed that the peak of apartment sales using installments occurred at the beginning of 2025, when their share reached 30-35% of total sales in the primary market. Then the developers began to artificially limit it, introducing an independent verification of the solvency of buyers in order to minimize the risks of delays and associated termination of contracts. Currently, the share of installments for the sale of primary housing does not exceed 15-19%.
— Installments do not provide proper filling of escrow accounts and thus do not reduce the credit burden on project financing, — Denis Zhalnin explained. — In fact, the July meeting of the Central Bank was one of the turning points in terms of reducing the share of installments, as funds from bank deposits gradually began to return to the real estate market, the profitability of which decreased, and developers began to actively stimulate demand among this category of potential buyers.
A decrease in the number of installment transactions is also affected by a decrease in the number of risky buyers. Experts emphasize that the popularity of this tool in difficult market conditions was due to the fact that it makes it possible to fix the cost of an object and wait for the moment when rates decrease.
What is the danger?
Installments have become less convenient and more risky: short-term contracts require quick refinancing or full repayment, which creates financial difficulties for buyers without a mortgage loan, said the CEO of Ikon Development.
"This can be a serious problem for customers in the comfort segment," he stressed. — Those of them who expected to switch to a market mortgage at adequate rates today do not see such an opportunity in the near future. The 17% rate still limits purchasing power in the real estate market, and the prospects for its reduction are still unclear. This is accompanied by stricter installment conditions: high initial payment, shorter deadlines, increased requirements for solvency.
For the buyer, this is not a full-fledged loan, but a temporary backlash, added Peter Barsukov, a business consultant and partner at the Developika Construction expertise center. After a year or two, you can get a mortgage on new terms and not lose the property.
— The key difference between installments is its short—term nature. This option is suitable for those who already have assets more expensive than the transaction amount, for example, an apartment for sale, savings, or whose payments do not exceed 25-30% of regular income — salaries, dividends or rent," he said.
One of the victims of the installment plan eventually lost his apartment, but after long negotiations he was able to negotiate with the developer and return the previously paid amount. The man said that initially he and his wife decided to buy an apartment in a new building in installments and sell the house closer to the delivery, thus contributing the rest of the debt to the developer.
"We borrowed almost 2 million rubles from relatives for the initial payment," he said. — The developer agreed on payments of 35 thousand rubles per month, which was quite a lifting amount for us. But after six months, problems started at work at first, but here we somehow managed to survive. However, against the background of this hassle, family life went downhill. As a result, there was a divorce, a division of property, and, of course, there was not enough money to pay off the installment debt.
According to him, the developer initially scared him with a penalty and a court, but after long negotiations and explanations, he nevertheless returned the amount deposited.
Civil lawyer Alla Georgieva told the story of other victims.
"The family did not have the opportunity to pay by installments," she said. — There was a clause in the contract stating that it is possible to increase the cost of building materials, taking into account the increase in the cost of building materials. And it turned out that people could not continue to pay, they had to terminate the contract.
With installments, there may be large overpayments — the developer insures himself from all sides.
— There is another case from practice, when people wanted to buy in installments, it was for a period of six months, — said the lawyer. — We came to the developer, but there was a significant overpayment for the cost of the apartment. In most cases, by 8-9%. Under such conditions, people lose the opportunity to pay, and consequently, they lose part of their means and housing.
Most often, the developer hides various conditions in the contract. At the same time, companies do not welcome amendments to their own contracts, since they insure themselves with heavy fines for delay or other violation of the contract. And clients often do not read the documents carefully.
What will happen to the installment market
Developers have never been supporters of installments and used them as a temporary emergency measure in conditions of high mortgage rates, recalled VSN Group CEO Yana Glazunova.
"It really worked, and we saw a period when installments were quite popular with customers," she said. — Now installments are not always becoming a profitable way to buy, you can consider other ways.
According to her, not everyone is able to calculate their strength or anticipate what will happen in a year.
"Cases where clients were unable to pay installment payments are not uncommon, and this led to the termination of contracts," she said. — Of course, the apartment was immediately put up for sale again at a new, higher price, but for the developer this is a waste of time and unnecessary hassle.
Buyers have now become more financially literate and prefer more understandable products than vague offers, said Lyudmila Kostyakina, Head of Sales at BEL Development Group.
— In addition, installments are difficult for banks, as they were not displayed in the registry of credit histories, — said the expert. — A large number of installments issued in this way could lead to financial collapse and bankruptcy in the future.
In conditions of high mortgage rates and a scenario of a slow decline in the Central Bank's key installments will not disappear, says Elizaveta Rodina, head of marketing research and analytics at the Glavstroy development company. But now the possibility of introducing additional control measures by the financial regulator is being actively discussed.
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