Short-term mortgages are in vogue: Russians prefer to pay off loans in a few months.

Since the beginning of this year, the number of homebuyers in Russia taking out mortgages for just a few months has increased by 1.5 times. Short-term mortgages (as this term has become common) now account for 10-15% of housing transactions. They are typically used in the secondary market or in new developments in the business and premium classes.

A mortgage for several months (up to a year) is taken out to secure the desired apartment while it's still available. The loan itself is repaid, in part, through the sale of the existing property. In other words, the mortgage is taken out for the difference in price between the apartment being purchased and the one being sold.

This type of mortgage is also taken out with the expectation of future refinancing or in cases where it's necessary to wait until the deposit is closed. Experts note that short-term mortgages are a temporary measure and don't represent a long-term debt burden for borrowers. They believe Russians will stop using them if market rates drop to 14%.

But when will this miracle happen? The key interest rate in Russia has been steadily declining in recent months, currently standing at 17% per annum. However, banks aren't "jumping the gun" and are keeping their mortgage rates at prohibitive levels for as long as possible. In Moscow, the average rate is 20.11%. Real estate experts are competing with each other in their calculations: some estimate that with this rate, they'll have to overpay for three apartments, while others say they'll have to overpay for five!

However, short-term mortgages are also beneficial for banks, as their primary goal is to keep Russians motivated to take out loans, especially expensive housing loans.

Konstantin Aprelev, founder and honorary member of the Russian Guild of Realtors, believes that there is no such thing as a "short-term mortgage"; it's just a poetic image.

"Nobody takes out short-term mortgages; it's not a separate product in the real estate market," he explains. "Russians are simply trying to pay off their normal, standard mortgages quickly because of the very high mortgage rates. They take out a home loan as usual, but pay it off early. This is due to the support of alternative real estate transactions."

You have some savings and use them to take out a mortgage to buy a home. You then pay off the debt by selling your existing property. You sell one thing to buy another. Essentially, it's a swap deal on the housing market.

For example, you have an apartment whose value is 70-80% of the price of the new home you're targeting. You take out a standard mortgage for 20-30% and then sell the old home to cover the remaining balance. Again, this is a standard mortgage, simply paid off as quickly as possible.

- But in this case, banks impose cannibalistic penalties...

It all depends on the contract you sign. If you initially intend to repay the loan early, you need to ensure the contract doesn't include any penalties for early repayment. Another issue is that people are often unsure whether they'll be able to repay the loan early or not. However, they're often pressured to do so by insanely high interest rates. You should choose a loan plan and a bank that offers minimal or no penalties for early repayment. This is profitable for the bank in any case. It makes a significant profit on the transaction itself. There are procedures such as title insurance, life insurance, property insurance... Until all these steps are completed, the bank won't issue a mortgage. The mortgage transaction itself is expensive.

Even officials say that market mortgages are dead in Russia due to insanely high interest rates. Is that true?

"You need to look at the structure and number of transactions. Over the past year and a half, they've fallen tenfold. Structured transactions essentially amount to secondary mortgages; long-term loans are virtually nonexistent; they're all short-term. Let's say you borrow a million rubles at 20% per annum. You have to repay 1.2 million. But if you have a 10 million-ruble loan for a year, you'll have to repay 12 million. In this situation, people tend to strain themselves to repay the mortgage early at any cost. They seek alternative sources: relatives and friends with money, or sell some of their existing property. Or they use most of their income to pay off the mortgage early. This is prudent financial behavior."