The growth of the developer loan portfolio decelerated to 9% in the third quarter of 2024, compared to 13% in the second quarter. Despite this slowdown, the sector remained robust due to an increasing volume of housing under construction, with the total portfolio surpassing ₽8.0 trillion.
In this period, ₽1.2 trillion were credited to escrow accounts, marking a 24% decrease from the previous quarter. The earlier sizeable credits were largely driven by heightened demand ahead of anticipated changes in mortgage programs, specifically the end of the Subsidised Mortgage programme and alterations in Family Mortgage programme terms in July 2024.
The balance in escrow accounts saw a moderate increase of 3%, reaching ₽7.0 trillion. Loans grew at a faster pace than credits to escrow accounts, leading to a noticeable drop (by 7 percentage points) in developers’ debt coverage by balances in escrow accounts. However, it maintained a relatively high level at 81%. Consequently, due to both this decline in coverage and overall interest rate growth, the average weighted rate on loans to developers rose to 7.9%, though it remained significantly below market rates.
Further information is available in the review "Project Finance in Housing Construction" for Q3 of 2024.
Preview photo: Anton Vaganov / TASS