Youth will be compensated for half the cost of housing rent: who will be affected by the program

The authorities will subsidize hiring only for those who save up for a mortgage

The Ministry of Construction decided to launch a state program to compensate 50% of the cost of renting housing for young people. This was stated by the deputy head of the department Nikita Stasishin. Russians under 35 who rent real estate and at the same time save up for a down payment to buy an apartment in a new building will be able to take part in the program.

The Ministry of Construction decided to compensate young Russians for half the cost of housing they rent in order to encourage citizens to purchase their own square meters. That is why a prerequisite for participation in the program, in addition to matching age and the availability of rented housing, is the need to save for a down payment on a mortgage – to buy an apartment in a new building.

Recall that from June 1, the Bank of Russia raised the minimum mortgage installment from 10% to 20%. And from January 1, 2024, to apply for a housing loan, you will need to deposit 30% of the value of the property. According to Avito Real Estate, the average cost of an apartment in a new building in the country is now about 6 million rubles. Therefore, in order to purchase such housing on a mortgage, young people need to have 1.2 million rubles in their account this year for a down payment, and in the future already 1.8 million rubles. It is quite difficult even for middle-aged citizens with seniority to accumulate such an amount, therefore, Russians often take additional consumer loans to pay the down payment on a mortgage. If at the same time they also live in rented housing, then the burden on the personal budget becomes very serious.

At the same time, back in January, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to submit proposals for preferential mortgages for young people. The program described by the Ministry of Construction, obviously, should be a response to the order of the head of state. Although the ministry has not yet specified the timing of the launch of the initiative, the authorities promise to disclose the details of obtaining benefits in the next couple of months. According to Stasishin, it is expected that about 310,000 people will be able to participate in the program. The target audience of the project is young people aged 23-27. “In fact, the state helps to save up for a down payment, while simultaneously subsidizing the rental of housing – until the moment of saving for a down payment,” the deputy head of the Ministry of Construction explained. The department is confident that the initiative will not require serious budgetary expenditures.

Interviewed market participants believe that young Russians will appreciate the proposal of the authorities, since they are the main buyers of housing in our country. As Elina Mukhamedyanova, Head of Partner Sales at A101 Group, noted, young families make up a significant part of the target audience of development projects. “An analysis of the target audience of our projects in the Leningrad Region showed that among the visitors to sales offices, about 70% were people under the age of 35, and mostly they were married couples with children,” the expert added.

The expenses of a young family that rents an apartment and is already servicing a mortgage loan for their own housing under construction reach 100,000 rubles or more. To this amount, you can add payments for a consumer loan taken to pay the down payment on the loan. “So, according to our estimates, at least 20% of apartment buyers act,” Mukhamedyanova emphasized. Subsidizing rental housing can effectively solve the problem of reducing the cost of young families to solve the “housing problem” and stimulate demand for housing, given the current configuration of the mortgage market, she is sure. “Now some employers compensate their employees for rent, in full or in part,” Yulia Dymova, director of the Est-a-Tet secondary real estate sales office, continued the conversation. In fact, the state operates in the same logic.

Meanwhile, the proposed scheme is fraught with certain financial risks. Over the past year, rental prices in Russia have fallen by 10-15%, but the launch of a subsidy program may stimulate an increase in prices in this market, because the number of potential tenants is likely to increase. In addition, it is not yet clear how long young people will be able to enjoy such a benefit. For example, now renting a “odnushka” in Moscow will cost 30-35 thousand rubles. If young people manage to save 15-17 thousand rubles a month through subsidies from the state, then they will be able to save 180-200 thousand rubles a year. With a down payment on a mortgage of 20%, they will have to save up to buy an apartment on credit for about six years, and given that next year it increases to 30%, then all ten.