Growth in the portfolio of loans to developers accelerated to 6% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 2% in the fourth quarter of 2023. This increase indicates that a substantial number of new development projects were launched and offered for sale while government-subsidized mortgage programs remained active.
Funds in escrow accounts totaled ₽1.0 trillion, which is below the record values of the fourth quarter of 2023 (₽1.9 trillion) but above those of the first quarter of 2023 (₽0.8 trillion). The balance of funds in escrow accounts over the quarter remained almost unchanged at ₽5.8 trillion. This stability is attributed to both a decline in real estate sales and a gradual increase in the amount of funds released from escrow accounts. Consequently, the ratio of debt coverage with funds in escrow accounts fell from 90% to 85%.
The rate on project finance increased by 0.5 percentage points over the quarter to reach 6.9%, which is less than the increase observed in the fourth quarter of 2023 (+0.8 percentage points). The current rate remains significantly below that on other parts of the corporate portfolio (12.5%). Future dynamics of project finance costs will depend on the volume of new projects, housing demand, and consequently, the amount of funds credited to escrow accounts.
More details are available in the review "Project Finance in Housing Construction in Q1 2024."
Preview photo: Sergey Ermokhin / TASS