Mortgage rates fall with increasing competition banks

According to the forecasts of some experts, the mortgage market in Russia in 2006 will grow by 30-50%, while the share of regional mortgage loans in the market will increase significantly. Probably the forecasts come true, because only the first quarter of this year's mortgage market grew by 25%. At present, mortgage housing programs involving about 350 banks, and the volume of the Russian mortgage market was 52.8 billion rubles. The experts at yesterday participated in the "Capital" at RBC, said that competition in the mortgage market has led to the fact that banks have to lend at lower cost and longer, while toned down the requirements for borrowers. Mortgage rates are differentiated according to the initial payment and the loan term (the cheapest loans - 10% in currency and 12% in rubles - usually granted for 15 years with an initial payment of half the purchase price). Today, borrowers in Moscow and St. Petersburg prefer to mortgage loans in dollars, in the same regions of the most popular loans in rubles. However, with the end of last year, a trend to an increase in dollar-denominated loans, as rates on them more profitable and the dollar in recent years either stagnating or declining. Experts say the demand for housing is rapidly growing, so the main problem of the mortgage market today - is insufficient volume of construction. By some estimates, the pace of construction is now three times as lagging behind the development of the mortgage. Another problem mortgages - high risk of inflation. If you reduce inflation to 5% per year, as proposed by President Vladimir Putin, the mortgage will involve an even greater number of citizens. If you believe the forecast of Economic Development, for a given reference point can come out in 2008-2009. Approximately the same time and calculates the Association of Russian Banks, predicting that after two or three years, interest rates on mortgage loans will be reduced to 7-8%. True, some experts doubt the reality of both forecasts. After all, even if we assume that in a few years, inflation is still reduced to 5%, the mortgage lending boom is unlikely to happen. The fact that housing going up by its own laws: the rise in prices is related primarily to the decline in supply, as well as the cost of materials that Rosstat in their calculations practically ignores. Inflation last year was 11%, while the price per square meter in Moscow in 2006 had already increased twice. Meanwhile, polls show an overwhelming majority of Russians, and that 72% of people in Russia who have bought property in the last year, according to mortgage profitable. Therefore, according to analysts, the number of purchases of mortgage scheme will grow. The forces applied to it the bankers offering various concessions for those who want to buy an apartment in the mortgage. So this year, several banks offered mortgages with no down payment. Potential borrowers, most of which lack of own funds is a major obstacle to the improvement of living conditions, the proposal enjoyed it. However, the hope for a massive failure of the first payment of creditors is not necessary - the risks are too great banks, to venture on such a step. For example, the president of City Mortgage Bank, Nikolai Shitov warns that more loans with no down payment the bank will issue, the more likely it collapse. In colleague agrees to head of retail banking business, "Zenit" Alex Razorenov, which says that the provision of bank loans with no down payment for the benefit of consumers, but in general it's bad for the mortgage market as a product "provokes the buildup of the market in the wrong direction." At the same time trying to influence the mortgage and the state. The concept of the priority national project "Affordable and Comfortable Housing - to Russian citizens," the goal by 2010 in Russia to build twice as many dwellings, and the volume of mortgage loans increased by 20 times. But we can hardly expect the mortgage market growth of 20-40 times. To the volume of mortgage loans showed a sharp increase should slow sharply and interest rates, experts say. This is possible if the banks do compete in residential mortgages good. To do this, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) developed a code of the mortgage lender. The main idea of ​​the document - to coordinate the Code with current legislation and to convince all market participants and the need for strict compliance with the Code laid down standards.