At a time when key interest rates and loan interest rates are rising, homebuyers planning to buy a reasonable question arises: Is the home safe in current economic realities?
Over the last 5-7 years, buying an apartment in a new building has become safer. First, housing financing mechanisms have changed dramatically: citizens no longer give money directly to developers, but deposit it into bank escrow accounts opened after construction is completed. Secondly, development has reached a fundamentally new level of culture and information transparency: data on all projects under construction in the country are kept in a unified system of housing construction. Third, concessional mortgage loan programs are only available for new buildings, so the monthly mortgage payment can be 15-35% lower compared to a similar loan to purchase housing on the secondary market.
Banks carefully check both the developer and the buyers of flats to neutralize credit and operational risks. It is not surprising that the share of overdue payments on mortgage loans for new buildings is lower than for secondary mortgage loans. Everything new requires careful consideration; This also applies to the financial discipline of debtors.
So is it necessary to calculate risks when buying an apartment in a new building? Always and everywhere. First of all, you should ensure that the project declaration and related information are included in the Unified Housing Construction Information System. It is also necessary to take into account the developer’s scale and financial profile and financial burden. Developer ratings, where developers are ranked by construction volume or amount of income, will help the home buyer in this regard.
An apartment buyer will feel more confident if the developer is among the TOP 20 construction companies in the country and among the TOP 10 construction companies in the region where residential construction is localized. A large developer will always demonstrate a higher level of sustainability than small and local players. This is due to the relatively lower unit costs of a large developer as well as greater attention to its reputation.
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For example, if we go into the top 10 in Moscow, we will see that the top 5 developers in comfort class transactions include: PIK, Level Group, LSR, Samolet and Brusnika. Comfort class housing in Moscow is perhaps the most in demand, so it will be useful to analyze the location and the developer’s projects under construction. It is clear that a developer who is involved in several projects at once is interested in long-term development, and therefore in practice there will be no problems with this. Large developers are less likely to experience delays in the delivery of housing, which is crucial for a new building buyer. The third factor is the diversification of the residential construction portfolio by area, number of floors and class of finished objects.
In addition to the analysis of objects under construction, the financial and operational efficiency of the developer is also of great importance. The inexperienced buyer will come to the aid of financial statements, which the developer has the right not to disclose, but companies aimed at developing and strengthening investment attractiveness will publish them on the corporate website.
A developer’s sustainability is greatly affected by its ability to repay loan obligations. And here you need to look not only at the volume of debt, but also at the amount of funds in escrow accounts. If the amounts in escrow accounts exceed the volume of the developer’s project loans, the developer’s interest in the bank is greatly reduced, which means that the financial burden and risks of bankruptcy are much lower.
You can also draw conclusions about the company’s strategic flexibility potential by looking at IFRS financial statements. Minimum values in the ratio of net debt minus the amount in escrow accounts to EBITDA indicate the financial strength of the company and its ability to conduct more profitable transactions for the purchase of land and mergers and acquisitions in adverse market conditions. Among the developers in the TOP 10 for the first half of 2024, this figure is minimal for Level Group, Setl Group, PIK Group, LSR, Etalon Group and Etalon-Finance. We also see that Level Group has the most stable position with negative net debt.
From open sources
The question of the price of a new apartment is certainly of great importance. Over the last 3-4 years, the cost per square meter in new buildings in Moscow has increased by 1.8-2.0 times. Many people think that prices for housing under construction have already reached their peak and the investment attractiveness of purchasing such apartments is low. However, this is largely a speculative view of the situation.
Firstly, the housing construction market has already largely adapted to high interest rates and has become capable of creating new demand for apartments without a significant decrease in the real value of objects. Secondly, housing construction technologies in new buildings provide the population with a new quality of life. It is this factor that is of a permanent nature and will create conditions for the prices of new buildings to be indexed at least to the level of inflation.
What are you thinking?
Source: Gazeta
Dolores Johnson is a voice of reason at “Social Bites”. As an opinion writer, she provides her readers with insightful commentary on the most pressing issues of the day. With her well-informed perspectives and clear writing style, Dolores helps readers navigate the complex world of news and politics, providing a balanced and thoughtful view on the most important topics of the moment.