The Russian banks in May this year issued a record volume of mortgages. The newspaper "Izvestia" writes, referring to the data of the Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending (AHML), that this volume grew by 35% compared to May 2016 and amounted to 140 billion rubles.

The newspaper notes that these rates of growth have become record for the entire history of mortgage lending in the country. The publication adds that this result was obtained despite the end of the state program of subsidizing credit rates.

Bankers interviewed by the newspaper believe that by the end of next year, rates may fall by another one or two percentage points.

The publication writes: "The volume of mortgage issued for January-May 2017 exceeded 610 billion rubles. The annual growth rate was 11% - the market is developing in a powerful growing trend, which is explained, first of all, by a significant decrease in rates and improvement of the basic macroeconomic parameters, the publication in AHML ".

PRIME notes that AHML General Director Alexander Plutnik believes that the growth in lending rates did not occur largely thanks to the actions of Sberbank and VTB Group, which, at the key moment of the completion of the state program, announced a decrease in interest rates on loans.

AHML estimates average weighted rates on the primary and secondary market in May 2017 at a rate of 10.38% and 11.04% respectively, compared with 11.38% and 12.85% in December of last year 2016. It is noted that the refinancing program played a certain support in the growth of the issuance of loans: citizens are actively turning to banks to reduce rates on previously taken mortgage loans.