Homeless youth: the share of zoomers among mortgage borrowers does not exceed 9%

Representatives of the younger generation are less likely to take out a mortgage than their older compatriots. Experts, however, note that the reasons for this phenomenon lie not in the social, but in the economic plane. Izvestia has studied who forms the demand for mortgage loans and how popular government programs are among different generations of Russians.

Zoomers don't take mortgages

According to a study by Mangazeya, borrowers born in 1997-2012 account for only 7-9% of mortgage demand. At the same time, the share of 30+ millennial borrowers has increased by as much as 7-12% over the past three years.

According to the company, only 3% of the representatives of zoomers and millennials are ready to calculate the financial burden in detail. The rest estimate the cost of loans only approximately. In addition, some respondents under the age of 27 admitted that they are not ready for force majeure, as they do not have savings, although they are aware of the need for a financial cushion.

Young borrowers are the driver

At the same time, according to Sberbank's calculations provided to Izvestia, borrowers aged 18 to 35, on the contrary, remain the main driver of demand for family mortgages: in 2025, it accounts for more than 55% of all loans issued under the program.

This is 6 percentage points higher than in 2024, the Domclick service clarified. Special attention is drawn to zoomers born from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s: their share in the registration of a "Family mortgage" increased by 4.2 percentage points in 2024-2025, almost returning to the maximum of 2022 (21.5%), calculated in Domclick.

Most often, family mortgages are taken by representatives of generation Z from regions with relatively affordable housing or high salaries (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District), the service noted.

"The Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug has become the leader in this regard, with a 29% share of zoomers. The second place was shared by the Orel and Ryazan regions, where the share of generation Z representatives with a Family mortgage was 28%. In the Tver and Lipetsk regions, zoomers accounted for 27% of family mortgages issued," Domclick said.

Those born in the mid-1990s are also significantly present in family mortgage payments in the Yamalo—Nenets Autonomous District, Kurgan and Ulyanovsk regions - 26% each. Finally, the Republic of Karelia and the Tambov Region were among the regions with a relatively high proportion of borrowers with a family mortgage loan program — 25% each.

Young residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg are the least likely to apply for a family mortgage. In the first case, zoomers account for only 11% of loans issued, in the second — 13%.

According to Domclick estimates, 43% of borrowers choose two—room apartments, 34% choose one-room or studio apartments, and 23% prefer three or more rooms.

Izvestia sent inquiries to other major Russian banks, as well as to the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance of Russia, but no responses had been received at the time of publication.

Desires and opportunities have diverged

If a person was born in the period from 1997 to 2012, then he is now between 13 and 28 years old, stated Igor Dodonov, an analyst at Finam.

— I think at that age there are not very many people who already have a stable, well-paying job, are able to save money for the down payment on a mortgage and service such a loan. That's why there is such a low proportion of loan sharks among mortgage borrowers," the analyst says.

IT specialists have become the most active zoom borrowers. There are special conditions for them — a preferential mortgage at 5%, said Yulia Makarenko, Deputy Director of the Banking Institute for Development.

— On average, the income of an IT specialist is from 200 thousand rubles. If, with such earnings, he buys an apartment of small square footage for one, this satisfies the requirements of banks. Hence the higher mortgage approval rate for this category," she says.

The analyst points out that zoomers fall into the category of those for whom mortgages are not approved en masse, and therefore they are practically not present in demand statistics. The share of mortgage refusals, according to the latest NBKI data, is almost 60%, for loans in general — about 80%.

In fact, there are two ways out for those who want to separate from their parents: rental housing or a mortgage in the name of older relatives, the expert notes.

— This is evidenced by the growing share of borrowers in the "30+" category. That is, this mortgage is not for their own needs, but for grown-up zoomers, taken in the name of their parents, as well as older brothers and sisters who already own their own housing and have paid for it. Moreover, the participation of relatives may be nominal (the zoomers pay for the apartment on their own) or actual (the elders buy housing for children), but there are no such statistics, says Yulia Makarenko.

Banks have increased the requirements for those applying for a home loan due to the high macroprudential limits that now apply to secured loans. The "white" income should be high (ideally, the credit burden should be 30-40%), and the credit history should be impeccable.

— The tightening of banks' policies is primarily due to the increase in overdue loans to individuals. For example, in July 2025, the amount of debt owed by Russians increased to 1.5 trillion rubles. Most of the delinquencies are on loans taken out in 2023 and 2024 at very high interest rates of 20-30% and above," Makarenko comments.

Irina Nosova, Senior Director of the Financial Institutions Ratings group at ACRA, agrees with the analyst.

"Housing affordability has decreased significantly over the past five years due to the rapid growth in its cost and a relatively modest increase in household incomes," she says.

Pure psychology

Dmitry Desyatnichenko, head of the Economics educational program at the Presidential Academy in St. Petersburg, explains the attitude to real estate ownership not so much by financial factors as by psychological factors. Millennials turned out to be a transitional link in the process of changing values.

— These are people who have seen the beginning of digitalization, but at the same time have grown up in the idea of the importance of stability, career and planned material prosperity. They have developed new values: self—realization, creativity, and experience, but in general they maintain a balance between the old model and new attitudes. Today they are 30-45 years old. This is an age when you already have a career, a certain income level, and a family. They understand what they want and are willing to make long-term commitments if income allows. This is a solvent generation, for whom a mortgage often becomes a tool for solving the housing issue, although for them home ownership is not an absolute value, as for previous generations, — says the interlocutor of Izvestia.

Irina Nosova explains the predominance of millennials in the structure of mortgage borrowers with a greater degree of life awareness. "This comes with age and with gaining more financial opportunities due to experience and work experience," the source concludes.

Zoomers think differently, Dmitry Desyatnichenko continues.

—This is a generation that is characterized by living in the moment, thinking in short-term terms and appreciating freedom. They don't want to commit themselves for 10-20 years, so a mortgage in their view is a limitation of mobility and opportunities, problems with changing jobs. Even with income, they are more likely to choose rent in order to maintain flexibility.: today in one city, tomorrow in another, perhaps even in another country. They are satisfied with the model where the apartment is rented, and the car or equipment is used in the sharing format. For them, emotional comfort, freedom of movement, and the opportunity to change their field of activity are more important than forming the framework of life, as their parents did," the expert notes.