Russia’s housing developers are struggling to meet sales targets after tighter rules for subsidized mortgages undermined demand, adding to concerns over a broader slowdown in one of the country’s key economic sectors.
Nearly three-quarters of residential developers (73%) failed to meet sales targets in the first quarter, according to a survey by state housing agency Dom.RF, pollster VTsIOM and the Institute for Housing Construction Development. The result marked the weakest performance in two years.
The findings add to mounting signs of strain in Russia’s construction sector after authorities tightened conditions for state-backed mortgages, long a key driver of housing demand. Developers and officials have increasingly warned that weaker sales, combined with high borrowing costs and growing financing pressures, could weigh on the sector for years.
Analysts at Dom.RF attributed the poor performance partly to inflated expectations following a record fourth quarter of 2025 and a sharp decline in subsidized mortgage issuance. By comparison, 87% of developers met or exceeded sales targets in the previous quarter.
Much of the boom-and-bust pattern stemmed from changes to Russia’s flagship “family mortgage” program, which offers home loans at a subsidized rate of 6%.
