Preferential Mortgage Program for IT Specialists Sees 70% Surge in Demand
In February 2023, banks saw a 70% increase in demand for a preferential mortgage program catered to IT specialists. According to the operator of the program, Dom.rf, banks approved 893 loans for a total of 7.8 billion rubles, compared to January’s 523 loans for 4.4 billion rubles.
The Ministry of Construction reported that in December 2022, there were 2.1 thousand appeals received by banks for the IT-MIDK, followed by 2.6 thousand in January 2023, and a staggering 4.7 thousand requests in February. Sber issued loans for 3.1 billion rubles under the program in February, up from 2.2 billion rubles in January. VTB confirmed a three-fold increase in demand to 8.3 billion rubles compared to the total volume of transactions from last year.
Lenders have been noted to reduce interest rates for the program, resulting in an average rate of 3.9% and an approval level of 67%. The program’s most active regions for mortgage issuance include Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sverdlovsk, Krasnodar, Tatarstan, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Voronezh, and Perm.
The government anticipates that over 50 thousand IT specialists will receive preferential mortgages totaling about 240 billion rubles between 2022 and 2024. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced in January that the government would increase possibilities to obtain a preferential mortgage for IT employees aged 18 to 50. Accredited companies can now apply for the program, and interest rates will remain at 5% per annum.
Accredited workers who quit their IT jobs five years after the mortgage design can maintain the preferential rates for six months after leaving the company. Those who join other accredited IT companies within six months after leaving their previous employer can also keep their 5% rate. However, industry experts caution that high wage requirements and strict eligibility criteria for accreditation have prevented many IT specialists from obtaining the mortgage. Many borrowers fear losing the opportunity to pay a loan at a reduced rate when switching to a non-accredited IT company.