Market-based mortgages in Russia should fully return with key rate of 10%-12% - Sberbank

MOSCOW. April 10 (Interfax) - Market-based mortgage lending should fully resume when the key rate reaches to 10%-12%, Alexei Leipi, director of the Domclik department at Sberbank said.

"We could talk about a full return to market-based mortgages when the key rate reaches 10%-12%," Sberbank said, citing Leipi.

"Most experts agree that when the rate reaches around 12%-13%, the market will breathe freely again. Indeed, we are in unique, challenging conditions, with the key rate remaining so high for such a long time. Of course, everyone expects the key rate to decline. We also predict a reduction in the key rate by the end of the year to around 13%," Leipi told reporters on the sidelines of Domclik Digital Day in Novosibirsk.

The volume and share of market mortgage issuances have been steadily growing since the third quarter of 2025. Standard mortgage issuances increased from 51.4 billion rubles in the first quarter to over 262 billion rubles in the fourth quarter in 2025, the bank noted.

The share of market-based mortgage programs in total issuances reached 37% in February, 20 percentage points higher than at the beginning of 2026. The last time the share of market mortgages reached this level was in October 2024, Sberbank emphasized.