Set up for the best: The authorities are preparing tax breaks for developers

The Ministry of Construction is preparing tax breaks for developers amid falling housing starts. This was announced by Deputy head of the department Nikita Stasishin at the real estate forum "Movement". The key factor will be the reduction of non—construction costs - connection to networks, registration of land plots, logistics, which reach 50% of the cost per square meter, told Izvestia in the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing. The developers themselves consider one of the effective measures to reduce the key interest rate to at least 17% — this will make it less attractive to keep money on deposits, and some of them will enter the market.

Why developers need support measures

The Ministry of Construction is working on new measures to support the construction industry. This was announced by Deputy Head of the department Nikita Stasishin on June 25 at the plenary session of the real estate forum "Movement". Before that, the official described the situation in figures, which so far leaves much to be desired.

— If you look at the dry figures, then in the first five months we see a decrease in the volume of new project commissioning by about 20% in the country. We see a decrease in the volume of multi—family housing compared to 2024 and 2023, which was a record year for multi-family housing," he said.

The official also said that the Ministry of Construction is recording a shift in deadlines for the commissioning of new housing.

— We do not support this. We perfectly understand the specifics of what you are doing," he addressed the developers. — We are well aware, especially in regional projects, that after the introduction of banks, to put it mildly, they are reluctant to apply for a family mortgage, because there is no longer any project financing, and the volume of such transactions is decreasing.

He reminded the business that a lot has already been done for it in the regulatory part.: how to build, where, why, and why. In addition, the moratorium on collecting penalties and fines from developers for late delivery of houses was extended until December 31. Therefore, companies need to understand that they must do everything in the interests of citizens.

— We are currently preparing additional non-monetary measures to support developers in terms of taxation. So far, we are coordinating this with our colleagues in the economic bloc within the government," Nikita Stasishin said.

Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, who opened the forum, drew attention to the fact that some developers got rid of debts in advance and entered a difficult economic situation with zero debt burden.

"The launch of new projects and the completion of existing ones will be the main event of the year, despite the not very positive environment for developers and developers this year," he said.

Earlier, industry representatives told Izvestia about the risks of bankruptcy of developers due to the unfavorable economic situation. In particular, a year after the cancellation of preferential mortgages, 11 major cities were at risk due to unsold housing, while in 2024 it was only Voronezh.

"The priority for the near future is the development of non—financial measures to support developers," Sergei Pakhomov, head of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services, confirmed to Izvestia the preparation of new initiatives. — We see the key reserve here in reducing non-construction costs, which reach 50% of the cost per square meter.

According to him, we are talking about the costs that builders incur for connecting to networks, registration of land plots and logistics.

— We have also started analyzing the standards for the design of social facilities, which will optimize the costs of infrastructure construction, they also affect the final cost per square meter, — said the deputy.

The office of Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, who oversees the industry, recommended contacting the Ministry of Construction for additional information. Nikita Stasishin declined to comment in more detail to Izvestia on measures to support the industry.

The editorial board sent requests to the government and the Ministry of Finance with a request to comment on the timing of the adoption of new measures, as well as to specify possible tax breaks.

What kind of help do developers want?

One of the weighty measures to support developers could be a further reduction in the Central Bank of Russia, Ilya Piskulin, founder of the Dvizhenie real estate forum and the Creativeness development company, told Izvestia.

— Reducing the interest rate to at least 17% will make it less attractive to keep money on deposits, and some of them will enter the market. Because deposits at a rate of 17% will be at the level of 15-16%, and this is already equivalent to possible inflation," the business representative explained.

He believes that measures for preferential lending to social facilities, as well as assistance to developers who implement projects with integrated territorial development, will also be relevant.

— Now the construction industry needs not so much any special support as normalization of monetary policy. It is necessary to return the cost of the loan to moderate values, and this directly depends on the key rate of the Central Bank," the founder of SIS Development, the developer of the comfort—class residential complex First Ryazansky, told Izvestia Yaroslav Gutnov.

According to him, if the regulator reduces it to 10-12% per annum, this will have a positive effect on the market, as the burden on developers in terms of project financing will decrease.

— At the same time, mortgage borrowers who are willing to take out mortgages on market terms, but not at a prohibitive interest rate, are becoming more active. In other words, only the easing of monetary policy will already give the market a recovery momentum. Of course, it is necessary to preserve the family mortgage and, if possible, expand it, as well as develop more targeted programs to support mortgage borrowers," the business representative said.

Financial state support for the construction sector is currently uneven and does not apply to all market segments, the CEO of OptimaDevelopment (developer of the Prime Park residential quarter) told Izvestia David Khudoyan.

— However, the authorities are trying to help even players who sell premium-class housing. For example, all market segments, including premium ones, cover measures to systematically reduce the number of bureaucratic procedures and their degree of complexity. The formation of a Single Portal for urban Planning Activities (GIS OGD) allows you to submit documents online. The approval period has been reduced from three to six months to 14-30 days according to standard procedures. The system automates checks for compliance with urban planning standards," the industry representative explained.

According to him, separate permits have been replaced with a single construction passport. Other measures are also being taken.

— Such a multi-level de-bureaucratization of the industry is one of the reasons for the stability of the market. However, the industry still needs to expand support measures. In particular, preferences should be given to all developers who create publicly accessible landscaping facilities, social infrastructure, and places of employment. Appropriate assistance should not be limited to individual public-private partnership programs and integrated territorial development projects," said David Khudoyan.

At the same time, according to the expert, any developer who makes a significant contribution to improving the socio-economic situation deserves encouragement, even if not in advance, but already following the results of the project.

— Three areas can be identified to support the construction industry. First of all, it is worth stimulating demand to a minimum through various preferential programs, which, if abused, cause a skew in the market in terms of price increases. Therefore, it is important to provide assistance only to those categories who really urgently need better housing conditions," Dmitry Khalin, CEO and managing partner of Intermark Urban Real Estate, told Izvestia.

According to him, stimulating demand will be possible only when the market mortgage reaches 10-12%. Everything depends on the decision of the Central Bank and the subsequent reconfiguration of mortgage conditions by commercial banks, he explained.

In addition, according to him, it is important to reduce administrative and financial costs. In addition, Dmitry Khalin believes that it is necessary to support not only the construction companies themselves, but also those that are closely related to them and without which it is impossible to build an apartment building. For example, manufacturers of elevator equipment, ventilation and engineering systems, and so on.