Observers say that by the end of the third quarter Russian rental prices had climbed roughly 70 percent as access to mortgage credit tightened. This assessment comes from a TASS report that cites a DOM.RF study. The surge is not simply a reflection of rising rents in a few big cities; it marks a wider shift in the housing market. With fewer households able to secure loans, demand shifted toward rental housing, and landlords responded by raising asking rents to balance the cost of financing and the risk of vacancies. The change was also shaped by broader macroeconomic conditions, including inflation pressures and tighter lending standards that reduced the pool of eligible buyers. In this environment, rental markets in major cities saw prices move sharply higher even as new supply remained constrained. The combination of limited supply and higher financing costs created a potent pressure cooker for renters and a new normal in urban living costs.
By late September the average rent across Russia reached record levels in major urban centers. In Moscow the typical monthly rent hovered around 111,000 rubles, a figure that dwarfed regional prices. In St. Petersburg, rents approached 56,000 rubles per month, while in other cities the median hovered near 43,000 rubles. The capital’s rent premium reflected job concentration, infrastructure, and the ongoing appeal of city life, while regional markets showed more modest but still significant increases. The gaps between Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other areas underscored how market dynamics vary regionally, with Moscow absorbing a larger share of new rental demand as households pause home purchases. Renters felt the message clearly: renting had become noticeably more expensive and less predictable as the year progressed.
The driver of this shift was the cost of borrowing. In October the average level of market mortgage interest rates exceeded 25 percent annually, a rate that dramatically alters the economics of buying a home. For a typical 30-year loan, the lifetime outlay contributed by interest and principal can reach about 24 million rubles for a standard apartment purchase. That scale of outlay makes renting comparatively attractive for many households, but it also solidifies rent levels as a counterbalance to the growing cost of capital. Observers point to the link between loan affordability and rental demand, noting that when loans become much more expensive, demand for rental housing rises even as vacancy pressures ease only slowly due to limited new construction. In this environment, housing markets reflected a tension between desire for ownership and the reality of tighter credit.
Affordability metrics showed that the income threshold for comfortably servicing such mortgage payments in a large city begins near 111,000 rubles per month. In Moscow, however, housing costs push that threshold higher, and incomes would need to be nearly three times as large to sustain a similar standard of living. These calculations rely on typical debt-to-income norms and the assumed loan structure. The result is a hit to potential homeowners and a shift toward longer renter tenure. The shift has implications for urban policy, rental supply, and the overall cost of living in metropolitan areas, where wages must outrun price growth if households hope to move beyond renting into ownership. For international observers, the pattern echoes questions about how credit cycles shape urban economies across markets with different currencies and policy regimes.
Additionally there have been discussions that border on market curiosities, such as the idea of purchasing an apartment for a kilo of gold. While such scenarios are speculative, they highlight how investors and curious observers view housing as a store of value and a potential hedge against inflation. For readers in Canada and the United States, the Russian experience offers a parallel to the way mortgage costs influence rents and homeownership in North American cities. In both regions, rising borrowing costs tend to push up rents and shift demand toward rental housing, even as supply remains tight. Analysts note that in North American markets mortgage rates have moved through cycles of higher and lower rates, with rental affordability often lagging wage growth. The overarching lesson for households is clear: the cost of financing is a primary lever in the affordability of both renting and owning, and shifts in credit conditions ripple through the housing market long after rates move. As such, policymakers, lenders, and developers watch credit trends closely to understand how they reshape the balance between renting and ownership in urban life.