Russian citizens who took out a mortgage at current interest rates will face an overpayment of four times the amount in the long term, said Doctor of Economic Sciences and scientific director of the department of additional education of the Faculty of Market Technologies of the Institute of Industry Management of the Presidential Academy Elena Ivankina.

Ivankina estimates that in twenty years the amount overpaid by Russian mortgage borrowers will be four times the cost of the apartment, provided that only the principal payment is taken into account. The economist claims that current interest rates are at 16-19 percent, which is holding back demand for housing.

Ivankina notes that Russians are also losing interest in government programs due to the Ministry of Finance’s decision to reduce the amount of the soft loan to 6 million rubles and increase the down payment to 30 percent. At the same time, changes in exchange rates, inflation and rising construction costs led to an increase in prices for new housing.

The decline in demand in the housing market, according to the expert, reacts with a certain delay. Ivankina believes that the consequences of the reduction in preferential mortgages on the market will only appear over time.

Earlier, realtors urged Russians to sell their homes. According to the data, after a peak in demand for finished housing at the end of last year, a period of slowdown has begun. Experts say that those who refuse to sell their home in the hope of greater profit in the future are making a mistake.