Mortgage rates fell to historic lows

According to the Bank of Russia, in February, the average weighted rate on ruble mortgage fell to a record low of 12.4%. The last time it was at this level before the crisis - in the first quarter of 2008. Average interest rate on mortgage loans in foreign currency has updated the record, dropping to 10.7%. "The lowering of interest rates and rising disposable incomes have provided an increase in demand, while excess liquidity and increase the attractiveness of this type of loan provided a stable supply of mortgage finance", - analyst Rustam Botashev Unicredit Securities. As a result, Russian banks issued mortgage loans by 55.2 billion rubles in the first two months of this year, which is 2 times higher than for the comparable period in 2010, and three times more than in January-February 2009. However, the potential for further interest rate cuts are not very high, because the Central Bank in late February raised the refinancing rate. If you follow the new steps toward tightening monetary policy, bank lending will become more expensive.