Salary requirements for mortgage approval reach 730 thousand rubles. To approve a mortgage for a one—bedroom apartment in some megacities, you need to receive three times the average salary in the region, five times more for a two—bedroom apartment, and almost five times for a three-bedroom apartment. Not a single millionaire will be able to keep up with one salary.
Residents of Russian megacities who receive the average salary in the region should not rely on the approval of a market mortgage on basic terms in 2025 alone. Market-based mortgages remain unaffordable for most Russians due to high loan rates. Even for the purchase of a studio apartment in a new building, a housing loan will be approved only for those who receive at least 1.6 times more than the average salary. To approve a three-year mortgage, the difference between the average salary in the region and the required income reaches 6.8 times, RBC-Real Estate has calculated.
Income requirements in millions
The highest income requirements for mortgage approval are in those metropolitan areas where new buildings are most expensive.
So, in Moscow as the most expensive millionaire in Russia:
In St. Petersburg, as the second largest megalopolis in terms of price tag for new buildings, a salary of 267.5 thousand rubles is required to approve a loan for a one-room apartment in a new building. To approve a two—bedroom mortgage, you need to receive from 413.9 thousand rubles, and for a three-bedroom – from 573.3 thousand rubles.
In Kazan, as the third most expensive millionaire housing under construction, earnings in the amount of 207 thousand rubles, 320.5 thousand rubles and 443.7 thousand rubles, respectively, will be required.
Residents of Volgograd, Voronezh and Chelyabinsk need the lowest (if I may say so) monthly incomes to approve a mortgage loan on market terms. For one—bedroom apartments, they start from 109.8 thousand rubles, for two—bedroom apartments – from 170 thousand rubles, and for three-bedroom apartments – from 232.3 thousand rubles.
As considered
We calculated the incomes at which banks in Russia’s million-plus cities will issue mortgages for the purchase of average one-room (35 sq. m.), two-room (55 sq. m.) and three-room (75 sq. m.) apartments in new buildings at a rate of 28% per annum. The initial payment was accepted for 30% with a loan term of 15 years.
The cost of the apartment was calculated using Rosstat data on prices of 1 sq. m. m in new buildings. The banks’ salary requirements were determined using the Dom.RF mortgage calculator. For comparison, we used the latest Rosstat data on average salaries (at the end of 2024), given that banks rely on past earnings to approve mortgages. These data were cleared of personal income tax and received an average salary, which was given on hand.
Real salaries are several times less
Kazan (Photo: Kosmogenez / Shutterstock / FOTODOM)
Despite the fact that the highest salaries are required in Moscow to approve a market mortgage for new buildings, it is most difficult for residents of Kazan to obtain a housing loan. The reason is that average salaries vary from region to region, and their greatest difference from the income levels demanded by banks is in the capital of Tatarstan. Here:
For comparison, in Moscow, a similar excess over the average salaries in the metropolitan region is 2.4 times, 3.7 times and 5.2 times, respectively.
RBC-Real Estate revealed the lowest excess of income required by the bank over the average regional salaries among all millionaires in Krasnoyarsk. Although even here, the average salary of a single borrower is not enough to approve a loan for a studio apartment. The average one-bedroom apartment in Krasnoyarsk costs 4.64 million rubles, and to approve a mortgage for its purchase, you need income 1.6 times higher than the average regional salary. For a two-room apartment (7.29 million rubles) You will need to earn 2.4 times more than the regional average, and 3.4 times more for a three—piece (9.94 million rubles).
What salary is needed to buy a one-bedroom apartment with a mortgage in 2025?
What salary is needed to buy a two-bedroom house with a mortgage in 2025?
What salary is needed to approve a three-bedroom mortgage in megacities? Real estate