From January to March 2022, the number of housing mortgages issued by leading (top 20) banks in Russia reached 160 thousand. This represents a 4.7% decrease to the same period of the previous year. The total value is estimated at approximately 1.32 billion rubles, up by 13.6% year-on-year.
Despite a sharp rise in mortgage interest rates to 20-21% amid an emergency increase in the key rate of the Central Bank, the issuance of mortgages in March remained at the level of February, mainly due to the issue of previously approved loans at the older rates of 11-12%.
The number of households becoming owners of new apartments and houses is a key factor shaping the demand for furniture for all residential areas in the medium term in Russia, as well as partly pent-up demand over a longer time-horizon.
We are tracking this indicator more closely, including the structure of mortgages issued by types of property and housing readiness, within our extended Market Reports.
