Another category of citizens will be able to receive preferential housing loans at two percent

SVO participants will be offered to live in the Far East

Following a working trip to the Arkhangelsk region, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend Far Eastern and Arctic mortgages to soldiers taking part in a special operation in Ukraine. At the same time, restrictions on age and marital status for this category of Russians have been lifted. The document was published on the Kremlin website. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has been appointed responsible for the execution of the order: the government must work on the issue by March 1.

The Far Eastern and Arctic mortgage program will be available to all participants in the special operation and their family members, including close relatives of military personnel killed during missions in the combat zone. Let us remind you that the preferential state program “Far Eastern Mortgage” has been operating since 2019. Initially, it was valid until 2025, but was then extended by the authorities until 2030. Using it, you can get a loan at a record low rate of 2% for new buildings, secondary housing, or construction of your own home in the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD), which includes 11 federal subjects. Moreover, a person living in any region of Russia can apply for participation in this program, but housing can be purchased at this rate only in places specified by law. The maximum mortgage loan size under this program has been increased to 9 million rubles. It is provided for the purchase on the secondary market of finished residential premises or residential premises with a plot of land located on the territory of a single-industry town, if the total area of ​​such housing exceeds 60 square meters. m. The down payment starts from 20%, the loan term is up to 20 years.

At the end of November 2023, this program was extended to the Arctic zone, after which, with similar conditions, it became possible to purchase housing under a preferential program in the Murmansk region and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The authorities assumed that its participants should be teachers and medical workers whose length of residence in the Arctic zone of Russia is at least five years, young spouses no older than 35 years, single parents raising a child under the age of 18 inclusive, as well as Russians who have received land plots under the Hectare program and participants in regional labor mobility programs. After the corresponding decree is signed by the President of Russia, age requirements and their marital status will not apply to SVO participants. Now veterans of military operations in Ukraine and family members of soldiers killed during a special operation can purchase housing in the Arctic zone and in the Far Eastern Federal District at 2% per annum, even if they are already 35 years old and have a child aged 19 years or older.

Vladimir Putin decided to expand housing benefits for participants in the special operation on December 11 during a working trip to Arkhangelsk. That day he spoke with the first recipient of an Arctic mortgage. A woman present at a meeting with the President of Russia told the head of state about the family of a SVO participant, whose members wanted to purchase housing under this program, but were not suitable in age. To this, Putin promised to change the terms of the program in such a way as to expand benefits for participants and veterans of the Northern Military District, their immediate relatives and also family members of military personnel killed during hostilities, which was done on February 5.

As noted by the head of the analytical department of BKF Bank, Maxim Osadchiy, in 2023, as of December 1, 32.4 thousand loans worth 156.2 billion rubles were issued within the framework of the Far Eastern mortgage. For comparison, 371.3 thousand loans worth 1,770 billion rubles were issued under preferential mortgages. It is obvious that, despite all the available benefits, the share of Far Eastern mortgages in the overall portfolio of preferential housing lending is small.

According to CIAN, over the four years of the program, more than 93 thousand families received Far Eastern mortgages. In terms of the number of loans issued, the leaders are Primorsky Territory (25.1 thousand), Yakutia (20.6 thousand) and Khabarovsk Territory (12.5 thousand). By implementing this program, the authorities are also stimulating the development of the construction industry in the Far Eastern Federal District, including through the entry of federal developers into the regions. During the period of validity of the Far Eastern mortgage, the volume of housing commissioning in the region reached 3.8 million square meters. m – this is 1.6 times higher than before its implementation, so the expansion of the program to the participants of the Northern Military District should have a positive impact on the development of the Far Eastern and Arctic regions.