The momentum behind individual housing construction (IZHS) continues to rise, as reflected in early 2023 figures. In the first two months alone, the nation saw more than 6.6 thousand loan approvals totaling around 28 billion rubles dedicated to private housing projects, according to data from Dom.RF Bank. This signal highlights a growing appetite for homebuilding financed through specialized credit programs and structured products offered by financial institutions.
Speaking at a roundtable focused on mortgage lending for private housing construction and the role of light steel thin-walled structures in home kits, Evgeny Kvasenkov, Director of Housing Development at Dom.RF Bank, noted that demand in the private segment accounts for roughly eight out of ten loans within the overall issue volume. This lending activity is sustained by preferential programs designed to stimulate participation in IZHS projects.
In describing the current landscape, Kvasenkov emphasized the pivotal role that mortgages play in driving private housing construction. He pointed to Dom.RF Bank estimates suggesting that about one in ten homes nationwide is financed through a private home mortgage loan, with projections indicating that, in the medium term, as much as half of new homes could be built within the market segment supported by such lending. The message underscores a shift toward broader access to financing and greater participation by private builders.
The discussion also highlighted the mechanisms that could underpin a qualitative transformation in IZHS. The focus lies on introducing robust financial instruments and expanding their availability, paving the way for greater industrialization of the market. Standardized designs and prefab home kits are seen as central to this evolution, aiming to streamline construction while preserving quality and controlling costs.
Market participants weighed the current state of housing construction alongside potential measures of support. They pointed out several advantages of home kits, including those made from light steel structures, over conventional private building methods. Among the benefits cited are higher liquidity, shorter construction timelines, and more transparent cost structures, all of which can reduce risk and improve predictability for builders and buyers alike.
Dom.RF experts also described a pilot program in which lending to IZHS using home kits from a subset of manufacturers includes a 0.5 percentage point reduction in interest rates. This incentive is designed to make such projects more appealing and financially viable for borrowers, while also encouraging innovation within the market. However, the bank also stressed the necessity of ensuring proper installation of the home kits. To support this, proposals were put forward to create and maintain a public registry of qualified contractors, with regular verification to safeguard quality and compliance. The register could be managed through the existing build.dom.rf service, establishing a reliable framework for contractor oversight and project accountability.