Everything at home: Russians have increased early mortgage repayments
In 2026, Russians began to close their mortgages more often ahead of schedule in order to get rid of debts at inflated rates faster. For every third housing loan opened at that time, there was one closed in advance, according to data from the Central Bank, which was analyzed by Izvestia. In January – March, the volume of early repayments reached 380 billion rubles and increased by 20% over the year. People began to withdraw their savings from deposits against the background of declining profitability and give them to reduce debts. How profitable it is to close a mortgage in advance is described in the Izvestia article.
How much have early mortgage repayments increased?
In the first three months of 2026, Russians repaid their mortgages by 380 billion rubles ahead of schedule, which is almost 20% more than in the same period last year, according to data from the Bank of Russia, which was studied by Izvestia. At the beginning of the year, for every third housing loan issued, there was one that was closed prematurely.
About 90% of early mortgage repayments occur at the expense of borrowers' own funds, according to the Central Bank. However, housing loans can also be completed ahead of schedule, for example by refinancing and selling collateral.
One of the reasons for the increase in early repayments is the increase in incomes of Russians last year, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Global. In addition, at the beginning of 2026, New Year's Eve bonuses and the 13th salary could be used for additional contributions.
However, the sharp decline in deposit rates in the second half of 2025 affected active repayments the most, as a result of which borrowers decided to withdraw money from deposits and use the accumulated funds for mortgages, said Dmitry Gritskevich, head of Banking and Financial Market Analysis at PSB.
After the reduction in key yields, they quickly went down and now reach about 13% per annum, while the rates on previously issued loans remained at high levels, said Pavel Zholobov, associate managing director of the NRA rating service. When the difference between them decreased, it became less profitable to keep funds on deposit for the sake of interest income than to send them to early repayment of debt.
Until recently, the situation was the opposite, the PSB recalled. In particular, it was economically impractical to repay a mortgage with state support ahead of schedule, which was previously issued at 6-7%, against the background of an increase in deposit rates to 20% in 2024.
However, now it is more and more profitable to direct free funds specifically to close debts. This is especially true for mortgages that were issued according to market conditions.
Housing loans are designed so that at the beginning of the term, the borrower pays interest to the bank, and the body of the debt is repaid towards the end, explained Vitaliy Kostyukevich, director of Absolut Bank's retail products department.
Loans issued according to market conditions turned out to have inflated interest rates. It is important to repay such a loan as quickly as possible with a shorter term, otherwise the debt will persist for a long period and will take away a significant part of the borrower's income for years.
If the apartment was bought on a preferential mortgage, then it may still be more profitable to keep free money on the deposit than to close the debt ahead of schedule. The fact is that such loans were mainly issued for new buildings where housing prices are inflated. According to the Central Bank, primary real estate is now on average almost twice as expensive as secondary real estate. At the same time, the interest on preferential loans is usually small. Nevertheless, a profitable, at first glance, rate turns into a large monthly payment due to the large loan body.
Who makes sense to pay off their mortgage ahead of schedule
Borrowers who pay strictly on schedule for the entire term of the loan are likely an exception, says Igor Rastorguev, a leading analyst at AMarkets. Most clients somehow manage to close the debt ahead of time.
The average mortgage repayment period under market programs has decreased from six years in 2022-2023 to three years in 2025-2026, the VTB press service reported.
Initially, the loan is usually issued for a maximum period of 23-26 years, so that in case of financial difficulties the borrower can pay the minimum amount and not default, said Evgeny Shavnev, CEO of the Flip real estate investment company. The difference between a short and a long period is noticeable already when applying: for example, with a market mortgage for five years and for 25 years, the monthly payment amount may differ by more than two times — about 185 thousand rubles versus 90 thousand.
However, over time, the established monthly payment becomes less burdensome for borrowers, so as the loan "matures", banks are more likely to face early closure, Igor Rastorguev explained. As incomes grow, people get the opportunity to use more funds to pay off their mortgages.
In addition, against the background of high interest rates, it becomes economically pointless to pay off the loan for the entire term. Therefore, the average life span of a mortgage in the market as a whole is now about four to five years, said Sergey Krasnousov, a federal expert at the Association for the Development of Financial Literacy. With the high cost of a market mortgage, borrowers tend to use every opportunity to reduce the body of the loan and future overpayments.
The trend that developed at the beginning of the year intensified even more in the second quarter. The volume of prematurely repaid housing loans increased by another 12%, said Vice President for Retail Risks at Dom Bank.Russian Federation" Roman Evdokimov. He added: now, on average, borrowers close about 4.5% of their total mortgage debt ahead of schedule.
In the future, the key rate will continue to decline, so deposits will become less profitable, and Russians will send even more funds for early repayment of mortgages, according to the PSB. This is especially true for loans on market terms — they will be closed faster or refinanced more often. At the same time, government-backed loans are likely to be serviced for as long as possible.
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