The economist gave advice on buying an apartment with a mortgage in 2026

It is better not to take an apartment on a mortgage at the moment, it is worth waiting for the key rate to normalize. Alexander Abramov, head of the RANEPA Laboratory for Analysis of Institutions and Financial Markets, expressed this opinion on Tuesday, February 10.

"It is better to take out a mortgage on an apartment when the conditions for this are ripe. This will be the most disciplined and simplest method, but the rates should return to normal, and now, I think, this is a useless exercise," the expert said in an interview with Lenta.Ru .

He noted that there are too many risks for long-term accumulation and it will be very difficult for an ordinary investor to protect their money from financial shocks that can be created by various factors.

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Earlier that day, Sberbank's Domclick analytical service center reported that according to mortgage lending market research in January 2026, Sberbank issued mortgage loans in the amount of 313.5 billion rubles, which is 4.7 times higher than in January 2025. The main volume was accounted for by the new building market, which accounted for 73.6%. Finished apartments accounted for 13.2%, while the total share of suburban real estate reached 12.2%.

In turn, Julian Ovechkin, head of the mortgage department at Level Group, said that 43% of Russians over the age of 29 regret that they did not take out a mortgage 10 years ago, when real estate prices were lower and loan terms were softer. 360.ru . A Level Group study has shown that there is a transformation of consciousness in which what previously seemed like a limitation begins to be perceived as a missed opportunity.

On February 7, Ovechkin said in an interview with RT that it is more economically efficient to consider a mortgage not as a debt, but as a flexible financial instrument. He clarified that partial early repayment with a shorter loan term is considered the most effective in terms of saving on interest.

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