Commission failure: Russians have become more likely to complain to the Central Bank about mortgage issuance

In early 2025, Russians began to complain about mortgage problems one and a half times more often, the Central Bank told Izvestia. Most of the appeals are related to rising prices for housing purchased under the family program, due to the fact that banks charged developers fees for each loan in the amount of 4-10% per annum and this amount was eventually included in the cost of real estate. Although in May, the market began to abandon this practice under pressure from the Central Bank, the consequences can be called irreversible. The cost per square meter in Russia increased by a quarter last year alone. What will happen to housing prices next is in the Izvestia article.

Complaints to the Central Bank about mortgage lending

In the first quarter of 2025, the Bank of Russia received 4.6 thousand complaints about mortgage lending, which is 60% more than in January—March last year, the regulator's press service told Izvestia. The main reason for Russians' discontent is the problems associated with the family mortgage. The number of claims for renditions under this program has increased almost sevenfold.

— In particular, consumers complain that banks charge the developer for setting a reduced interest rate under the contract. This entails an increase in the price of the property," the Central Bank explained.

This practice appeared at the end of 2023, when large banks began to introduce preferential mortgage fees for developers. If a developer wanted to sell more housing through government support programs, he had to pay the credit institution where the housing loan was issued. For different players, the amount of such a commission reached 4-10%.

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The market has already started to abandon this practice. In May 2025, Sber, VTB and Sovcombank stopped charging commissions, and Dom.RF Bank announced plans to abandon them. Experts interviewed by Izvestia are confident that this happened under pressure from the Central Bank. Even President Vladimir Putin has spoken out against this practice.

— There are no real prerequisites for canceling commissions now, because preferential mortgages for banks are not a very profitable product, — said Ivan Uklein, Senior Director of Banking Ratings at Expert RA.

Banks now issue family mortgages at a discounted rate of 6%, but market prices are much higher: according to Izvestia's calculations, they reach 32% for the top 5 players. At the same time, the state reimburses the amount of annual interest on government programs equal to the key rate (currently 21%) + 3 percentage points (that is, in the amount of 24%). For banks, such a product is not marginal — under normal conditions, they could earn a third more on such a loan.

Bank commissions for developers on preferential mortgages

Although credit institutions waive commissions for developers, the consequences of their actions last year can be called irreversible.

— Developers, who were forced to pay commissions to banks, put them into the cost of housing, which kept prices at a high level, — explained Ivan Uklein from Expert RA.

Bank fees can be considered one of the key factors that increased the acceleration of real estate prices in 2024, says Vladimir Chernov from Freedom Finance Global. In the fourth quarter of 2024, prices per square meter in the primary market reached an average of 178 thousand rubles, which is 26% more than in October-December of the previous year, according to the Central Bank. At the same time, by the end of 2023, the value of real estate grew more slowly - only by 15%.

The abolition of commissions will not lead to lower housing prices, Ivan Uklein is sure. Russian real estate has been rising in price in recent years due to any impulse, but these jumps are rarely adjusted in the opposite direction. Developers use only point discounts due to reduced demand, but overall it remains high, so prices inevitably continue to rise.

At the same time, general inflation in the construction market is leading to an increase in housing prices, said economist Andrei Barkhota. Players are faced with an increase in the cost of both materials and construction and installation work. Nevertheless, real estate prices consistently outpace the average inflation rate in the Russian Federation.

— Developers can now talk about absolutely everything as a factor in favor of rising prices. Severe inflation? Prices are rising. Weak inflation? Prices are also rising, but we need to increase profits. A high key rate? Prices are rising because money from banks is getting more expensive. A low key rate? Prices are rising because demand has gone up. And you can go on like this for a long time," explained economist Alexey Krichevsky.

In fact, it makes no sense for developers to reduce the cost of housing if it is already being actively bought, the expert added. Sales are now arranged only for "difficult" housing with poor layout or poor location, and the rest is still in demand.

What will happen to housing prices in 2025

— People now assess housing affordability not by its total cost, but by the "acceptability" of the monthly payment, — said Vladimir Chernov from Freedom Finance Global.

In conditions of high key demand for apartments, only a preferential mortgage can provide. According to the United Credit Bureau (OKB) for February, 70% of all housing loans in the Russian Federation are issued under government programs. This means that almost every third mortgage is paid by the state together with the borrower with taxpayers' money.

The Central Bank has repeatedly noted that government programs lead to an increase in the cost of new buildings relative to ready-made real estate (after all, state support is valid only for primary housing). According to the head of the regulator, Elvira Nabiullina, the price gap for primary and secondary housing reaches 57%.

Nevertheless, in conditions of high interest rates, there is no other way for Russians to buy real estate at an affordable price. The overpayment of a mortgage loan in the amount of 10 million rubles (excluding the initial payment of 2 million) for a period of 25 years at 32% per annum will amount to 70 million rubles. That is, only the amount of interest that the borrower will pay will exceed the cost of housing by seven times.

However, the abolition of commissions for developers is likely to slow down the pace of issuing preferential mortgages, Vladimir Chernov believes. Banks will either have to take on the loss of revenue or reduce disbursements.

The burden of waiting: government programs continue to play a key role in the mortgage market

Until the key rate is lowered, only installments from developers can be an alternative.

Housing prices in such conditions may slow down growth, but they will decrease by a maximum of 2-5%, the expert said. In the largest cities of the Russian Federation, the situation will remain unchanged.

If the authorities want to maintain the volume of preferential mortgage loans without shifting costs to consumers, they may have to increase the level of reimbursement for such loans to banks, Vladimir Chernov admitted. In this case, the Ministry of Finance will have to take on an additional burden. However, if this is not done, the fees will return "in a new package", because banks will find a way to compensate for their losses.