Future 1% credit for new builds accumulates details. How will the real estate market change?

The real estate market lives in anticipation of a Belarusbank credit program, which could significantly change the situation with apartment purchases.

According to preliminary information, the state bank will issue loans for buying new builds at a favorable interest rate: a symbolic 1% for the first two years. After this period, the rate will be 15.4% per annum.

Currently, Belarusbank is signing partnership agreements with developers who will be included in the program.

According to real estate expert Natallia Litouskaya, almost all Minsk commercial developers are at the signing stage.

"I suspect that by August 10, everyone who has signed the partnership will launch advertising - to catch the attention of buyers," she writes.

Litouskaya notes that the rate after the grace period will be 15.4% per annum, with a tie-in to the refinancing rate.

Litouskaya does not expect a sharp increase in prices at the start. In her opinion, some developers will raise prices by approximately 4% - for the bank's commission.

However, the program will hit secondary real estate the hardest.

According to Litouskaya's assessment, the secondary market will lose 20-30% of buyers - those who don't need to buy right now and who can confirm their income to the bank: "Parents buying an apartment for their children to grow into, and those who view housing as a pension safety net, will go to developers with a partner loan.

At the same time, the supply in the secondary market will start to grow. "If you have an 'extra' illiquid apartment, it's the perfect time to sell it, take a loan, and repay it in two years while the rate is 1% - meaning, increase liquidity almost without overpayments. When will such an option come along again?" Litouskaya ponders.

In her opinion, as demand falls, the base of offers will accumulate, and sellers - not immediately, but in about two months, because the market is inert - will become more amenable, across all segments.

It will also affect investors who are just entering the secondary market as sellers and expect to sell square meters for more than similar ones at the construction stage. "However, they can also wait for the generous promotion to end - Belarusbank's partnership program is not indefinite," writes the expert.

Belarusbank itself has not yet officially announced its mortgage plans.

• 1
• 1
• 0
• 4
• 1
• 1
• 0
• 0