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- Life has helmets on: the government will present new measures to support the construction industry
Life has helmets on: the government will present new measures to support the construction industry
The government is now actively preparing measures to support the construction industry against the background of an increase in the key rate of the Central Bank of Russia, rising production costs and inflation. Representatives of Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin told Izvestia about it. Among the already announced measures - the legislative right of developers to installment, the creation of savings and loan banks, the reduction of the investment and construction cycle. According to experts, it is possible to overcome the period of insufficient solvent demand by increasing support for builders and buyers with a subsequent reduction in the amount of assistance as monetary policy softens. Details - in the material of "Izvestia".
Finish what has been started
The government is considering a set of solutions that will help to maintain the pace of construction in Russia in conditions of high key rate, reported "Izvestia" in the press service of Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.
- The main task is to ensure the completion of housing construction so that citizens are guaranteed to receive the apartments they have paid for. In addition, it is important to ensure the launch of new construction projects, so that the development of the industry did not stop, - said representatives of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Among the measures under discussion are the legislative right of developers to installments, as well as loan and savings banks. Inaddition, a set of non-financial measures to support developers and contractors is under consideration - it includes simplification of obtaining city planning documentation and other necessary documents, the press service of Khusnullin said.
Sergei Kolunov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Utilities, told Izvestia that "at present, some developers provide installments from themselves - the law stipulates that it is valid until the completion of the construction of the facility." However, there are cases when, for example, the facility is completed ahead of schedule, and the installment buyer must also close early, the deputy pointed out.
- Today we are discussing the possibility of extending the installments after the completion of construction, it would be fair to our residents, - said Sergei Kolunov. - In addition, we are now actively discussing with the Ministry of Construction the revision of the mechanism of escrow accounts in terms of charging interest on loans on the difference between the amount of the loan of the developer and the amount of funds of citizens in escrow accounts.
Rifat Garipov, Head of the Project Finance Commission of the Public Council under the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation, explained that the forthcoming package of measures is a way to avoid a popular strategy of developers: to wait for a year and a half and wait for the key rate to fall.
- But construction cannot wait, many projects have been started and they need to be finished on time," he said. - So now we need not a strategy, but survival tactics. Because in parallel with construction, developers face the question - how to sell the built objects so that it would not hurt either the buyer or themselves too much?
As for the idea of creating savings and loan banks, working similarly to housing cooperatives, it can be realized quickly, but for the buyer it is just a long project - much longer than a regular purchase. This financial instrument allows you to buy the area gradually, accumulating square meters. Not as an alternative to mortgage, but as an additional opportunity this measure will not prevent those who need to improve their living conditions, noted the Public Council.
- It is hoped that the measures to "cool" the economy are short-term in nature, because after a multiple decline in demand for mortgage housing has already begun to review the investment plans of industrialists and even mining companies, - says a member of the Public Council at the Ministry of Construction Ilya Ponomarev. - In such conditions, the state support could be expressed, first of all, in the increase of financing of state construction provided by direct financing.
Our country already has a positive experience on support measures, the Ministry of Construction and Architecture of Stavropol told Izvestia. "It was during the pandemic in 2020 and 2022 after the start of a special military operation," - specified there.
Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko at a recent meeting with Khusnullin reminded that the construction industry provides up to 9% of Russia's GDP and up to 12% of all tax revenues.
The main problem of development
The main problem of development now is related to the high cost of construction. According to Key Capital, 70% of developers in Russian regions consider it a priority. Undoubtedly, the decrease in demand aggravates it, but in general, the construction business (especially in the conditions of project financing) is accustomed to ups and downs in buyers' activity. Accordingly, any measures that will help reduce costs and increase demand will be effective. From this point of view, it is important to shorten the investment cycle in the package of measures proposed by Marat Khusnullin, said Olga Guseva, CEO of Key Capital.
- This can be achieved by simplifying access to liquid land plots, reducing the period of preparation and approval of project documentation, eliminating difficulties with connection to utility networks," said Olga Guseva. - The government can also help diversify the development business, for example, by launching programs to support multifunctional projects that include not only housing, but also commercial, social facilities, scientific or production centers.
For developers implementing such projects, it is possible to introduce incentive measures (compensation, additional funding under government programs), she added.
Ruslan Syrtsov, Managing Director of Metrium, believes that the government should now subsidize project financing of residential complexes with social facilities in order to reduce the credit burden on developers. Secondly, it is possible to reduce the fee for the change of VRI for developers who undertake to build kindergartens, schools, health clinics, fitness centers within the framework of residential complexes, said the specialist.
Dmitry Golev, Commercial Director of Optima Development, noted that the shortage of specialists in the construction industry can be reduced, if not overcome, by attracting qualified employees from abroad. For example, in Vietnam the average salary of representatives of construction specialties ranges from 16.9 thousand to 41.7 thousand rubles. As a result, it is possible to attract personnel from a friendly republic, even paying them a salary lower than the average for the Russian market.
Vladislav Preobrazhensky, Executive Director of the Moscow Investors Club, believes that the most important measure of support should be to ensure that market changes in the market environment, which may occur in the short term, are offset by stabilization mechanisms during project implementation.
- Since we build a lot, the price should not change dramatically. This means that the cost of real estate, construction financing, as well as all other components of construction should not be sharply adjusted," says Vladislav Preobrazhensky. - This is possible in a stable economy without drastic changes, and the terms of financing construction projects will not be determined three years before the end of the project, but will change in the process of implementation, etc.
Alexey Popov, head of "Cian.Analytica", believes that of the solutions listed in the preamble, the legalization of sales by installments is of particular importance. Now developers are increasing the number of such transactions, and during the discussion of the "new mortgage standard" (coming into force in January 2025) did not exclude the possibility that their use may be significantly limited. A set of measures to reduce barriers to launching new projects may also be of interest to developers, he believes.
- Among the realistic steps we can single out the distribution among large companies with differentiation by regions of the state order for the construction of housing for the participants of the housing market and their families, as well as government employees, - Pavel Kartsev, CEO of Valrus Ltd., MRICS, is sure. - If we do not involve the Moscow region in these programs to improve housing conditions, where demand can still support itself, the volume of state orders can cover the decline in demand and bankruptcies of construction companies in the regions.
Also effective would be the construction of transport and energy infrastructure at the expense of the state, emphasizes Pavel Kartsev. In most cases, the construction of all infrastructure is borne by the developers, the project budget, although then the state benefits in the form of taxes from the project, and grid companies - in the form of tariffs for resource consumption. All over the world, the state and energy supplying organizations build communications at their own expense. This measure alone can reduce project budgets by 15-20%.
Ivan Tatarinov, Executive Director of Glincom development company, believes that the main steps that could support the construction industry are a moratorium on interest payments on current loans of developers, or refinancing or subsidizing of loan rates. In parallel, we can also talk about subsidizing mortgage rates on new buildings for end consumers, Tatarinov added.
Kirill Kulakov, a professor at the National Research University of Moscow State University, points out that the solution, which will not require additional funds from the budget, is to give developers the right to sell housing in installments. It will allow to sell apartments in already commissioned houses in a short period of time and, accordingly, to receive funds for further work of the construction company. But it will be possible to talk about the exit from the systemic crisis only if the key rate is reduced and the period of turbulence is over, he emphasized.
According to Urban's forecasts, in the next two to three years there will be consolidation of the construction industry. The top federal players will gain even more weight by absorbing some of the regional companies that are in the most vulnerable position. More active participation of the state in solving the housing issue is very likely. This could be the creation of a new state corporation or the expansion of the functionality of one of the existing ones with the transfer of necessary resources and powers to it, Urban foresees.
