Russian Housing Research Articles

Развитие в России финансовой инфраструктуры доступного жилья

В статье проводиться анализ финансовой инфраструктуры доступного жилья в России. По данным Финансового института развития в жилищной сфере АО «ДОМ.РФ» на конец мая 2020г. в пятнадцать крупных банков поступило более 120 тыс. заявок, из них одобрено 81,9 тыс. заявок (68%), при этом выдано только 22,8 тыс. кредитов (19%) на 57,5 млрд рублей, что составляет 6,4% от плановых показателей Программы льготной ипотеки (900,0 млрд руб.). Правительство доступными финансовыми инструментами, увеличением предложений на рынке недвижимости за счет увеличения объёмов жилищного строительства добилось масштаба клиентской активности, но неожиданно для себя встретилось с неготовностью финансовых институтов (банков, финансовых посредников) обеспечить потребителей доступной квартирой. Причина в том, что в России неразвиты финансовые инструменты доступности жилья, и одной Программой льготной ипотеки решить жилищный вопрос сложно. The article analyzes the financial infrastructure of affordable housing in Russia. According to the Financial Institute for the development of housing «JSC BUILDING. Of the Russian Federation» at the end of may 2020 fifteen major banks received more than 120 thousand applications, of which 81.9 thousand applications were approved (68%), while only 22.8 thousand loans (19%) were issued for 57.5 billion rubles, which is 6.4% of the planned indicators of the preferential mortgage Program (900.0 billion rubles). The government has achieved the scale of client activity with affordable financial instruments and increased offers on the real estate market by increasing the volume of housing construction, but unexpectedly met with the unwillingness of financial institutions (banks, financial intermediaries) to provide consumers with affordable apartments. The reason is that financial instruments for housing affordability are not developed in Russia, and it is difficult to solve the housing issue with a single program of preferential mortgages.

Religious Elements and Functions of “Red corner” and “Stove corner” in Traditional Russian Houses

이 글은 러시아의 전통 가옥 ‘이즈바(Изба)’에 조성된 ‘붉은 구석(Красный угол)’과 ‘벽난로 구석(Печной угол)’이 가진 신앙적 요소와 기능을 고찰한다. 집은 개인의 안전과 안녕을 보장한다. 러시아인들은 집터를 택하는 것부터 집을 짓는 매 단계마다 주술적인 각종 의례들을 행하고, 집 내부에는 신격들이 좌정할 수 있는 공간을 조성한다. 붉은 구석은 기독교(러시아 정교회) 도입 이전 태양신과 조상신에서 이콘으로 현현되는 기독교의 신격들이 자리한다. 동남쪽 방향에 위치한 붉은 구석에는 이콘 외에도 식탁, 의자 등 여러 가지 소품들을 설치함으로써 성소의 역할을 부여한다. 붉은 구석은 남성의 공간이며, 혼례와 같은 통과의례적 상황을 제외하고는 여성들의 접근을 불허한다. 붉은 구석의 대각선 정면에 위치한 벽난로 구석에는 불의 신격과 러시아의 전통적인 가신인 다마보이가 살고 있다. 온기를 제공하고, 음식을 조리할 수 있는 벽난로도 하나의 제단이 되며, 집 구성원들을 보호한다. 벽난로 구석은 철저하게 여성들의 공간이며, 이 곳에서 여성들이 하는 가내수공업, 음식조리, 출산 등이 행해진다. 기독교의 신과 기독교 도입 이전의 신격들이 좌정하고, 지정학적 방위와 남녀가 구분되며, 출생과 죽음의 의례가 교차되는 두 구석은 상호보완적인 이원론적 역할을 통해 러시아인들의 하루와 평생을 지배한다.

On the issue of the construction products brands’ promoti

For a number of reasons, the domestic construction industry has traditionally been characterized by a conservative attitude to such means of influencing the market as marketing in general and branding in particular. The excess of demand over supply, observed in the Russian housing market for a long time, allowed the construction companies to consider marketing as an unnecessary, unproductive element of market activity. However, the active growth in production volumes that took place in the field of housing over the past 20 years has led to a significant intensification of competition between the construction companies, contributed to the increased demands from the consumers, and, as a result, forced many construction companies to reconsider their old attitude to marketing. To date, almost every major construction company operating in the housing market is already actively using certain marketing tools. Branding was no exception in this series either. Creating and promoting brands of construction companies and residential complexes has become a daily practice. A review of the current situation, problems and prospects in this area are the objectives of this article.

Construction enterprises’ marketing activities in the economic turbulence period

Construction is rightfully considered one of the most important sectors in any economic system. It takes an active part in building up the fixed assets, creating a diverse technological and social infrastructure, as well as providing the population with housing. At the same time, the specific features inherent in construction and the product it produces, such as, for example, territorial consolidation and a long service life, as well as excess of demand over the supply on the Russian housing market, allowed the construction companies to long consider marketing as an unnecessary, optional element of the market activities. However, the rapid growth observed in the field of housing construction over the past 20 years, increased the competition and increased the demands from the consumers, led to the fact that many construction companies were forced to reconsider their old attitude to marketing. Today, almost every organization in the housing market uses, to one degree or another, marketing tools, more often tactical, less often strategic. However, the ongoing changes in the Russian construction market, due primarily to economic stagnation and a decrease in the population solvency, actualize a greater active introduction of marketing tools in the construction companies’ practice, including against the backdrop of the economic activity increasing digitalization. A review of the problems and prospects in this area is one of the objectives of this article.

The Impact of the Development of the Mortgage System on the Availability of Residential Real Estate

The article discusses approaches to solving the problem of ensuring housing affordability, which is relevant for many countries, including Russia. The concepts of «residential real estate market» and «housing affordability» are analyzed from various points of view; criteria that characterize housing affordability are defined. The possibilities of using various methods of acquiring residential real estate in a market eco­nomy are analyzed. The features of the Russian system of mortgage lending based on a comparison of approaches to determining the affordability of housing in Russia and abroad are noted. As a key area for solving the problem of housing affordability, the possibilities of a mortgage lending system are considered. Statistical data are presented. They demonstrate the relationship between the indicators cha­racterizing the state of the mortgage lending system and the dynamics of prices in the real estate market. The relationship between the availability of mortgages and the availability of housing is indicated.

СОВРЕМЕННЫЕ ТЕНДЕНЦИИ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ РАЗВИТИЯ АРХИТЕКТУРНО-ПРОСТРАНСТВЕННЫХ И ФУНКЦИОНАЛЬНО-ПЛАНИРОВОЧНЫХ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИК ТИПОВОЙ ЗАСТРОЙКИ В РОССИИ И ЗА РУБЕЖОМ

the article presents modern foreign and domestic trends in architectural-spatial and functional-planning solutions for economy-class apartments and the prospects for the development of typical design in Russia. It is becoming increasingly clear that mass construction in Russia does not require significant development since Soviet times, when construction should be carried out for the sole purpose of providing citizens with affordable housing with minimally acceptable parameters in shortened terms. The most significant differences of modern Russian housing from foreign is the reduced range of functional premises and smaller areas. The modern consumer has other ideas about comfortable living. In addition, modern domestic and foreign experts in the field of architecture and construction confirm the need for an innovative approach to the design of urban buildings. It is assumed, that the use of existing trends in the housing project will significantly increase the level of comfort of apartments without a significant increase in the cost per square meter. Comparison of domestic and foreign experience in the construction of residential buildings brought a number of common features and significant differences, which are analyzed in the article. They include: the tendency to individual design, the tendency to a change in living space, the tendency of vertical functional zoning, the tendency of zoning, the trend of expanding the functional-planning composition of the standard layout of ancillary rooms, sanitary and household zones.

Foreign Housing Markets: Questions of Price Policy

The housing market is one of the most important segments of the economy of any country. As part of the study, it is shown that it is not enough to consider the housing market financing system only in the organizational and structural aspect. The application of a structurally functional approach is essential, which will improve the efficiency of market financing. The author determines the need for the formation of auto-regulators that can reduce the need for manual control of the economy of the housing complex and the state, which is especially important in the modern economic system. The study identified such auto-regulators as the inclusion of borrowers in the quality management system and the usefulness of housing finance; organization of interaction of market and state financing based on the principles of public-private partnership; the need for a system of indicators to assess the development of the Russian housing market, improving the information support of financial markets; the formation of an open system for monitoring the status of the housing market financing system.

Autoregulators in the housing market financing system: a structurally functional approach

The housing market is one of the most important segments of the economy of any country. As part of the study, it is shown that it is not enough to consider the housing market financing system only in the organizational and structural aspect. The application of a structurally functional approach is essential, which will improve the efficiency of market financing. The author determines the need for the formation of auto-regulators that can reduce the need for manual control of the economy of the housing complex and the state, which is especially important in the modern economic system. The study identified such auto-regulators as the inclusion of borrowers in the quality management system and the usefulness of housing finance; organization of interaction of market and state financing based on the principles of public-private partnership; the need for a system of indicators to assess the development of the Russian housing market, improving the information support of financial markets; the formation of an open system for monitoring the status of the housing market financing system.

The problems of dilapidated and emergency housing in Russia

The relevance of this work is determined by the growth of negative trends associated with the increasing share of dilapidated and emergency housing in the housing stock of Russia. The elimination of such housing is a priority of the housing policy. The aim of the study was to identify the causes of the sharp increase in uninhabitable housing and to assess the prospects of solving this problem in the near future. The rapid accumulation of such housing is associated with low rates of demolition or decommissioning, insufficient capital repairs and shortage of newly commissioned housing. The scientific novelty of the article is as follows. Using the methodology of regional typologies construction, the authors estimate the dynamics of changes in the situation with housing unfit for living in different regions of the country for 2010-2016; the number and housing supply of the population living in such fund are calculated. Resettlement of citizens from dilapidated housing is one of the most pressing issues relating primarily to the poor and socially vulnerable segments of the population. Many resettled people are provided with obviously low quality housing. Scenarios for changing the share of dilapidated and emergency housing have been developed, including calculations of the number of people that will have to live there under certain housing policy options. Application of the scenario modeling method made it possible to draw original conclusions about the prospects of reducing the time of liquidation of uninhabitable housing, which differ from similar results of other researchers. In the preparation of forecasts, the measures of the state housing policy in 2013-2017 aimed at the elimination of emergency housingwere taken into account. Forecasts with such approaches are used for the first time. The results of the study can be used in the work of Federal and local authorities, in the implementation of the Federal project "Ensuring sustainable reduction of uninhabitable housing", as well as in scientific works on this issue.

Choice between Rent and Mortgage: Evaluating the Net Present Value of Home Ownership

The article considers the problem of choosing between the ownership of residential real estate and its rental as a solution to the investment problem. The purpose of the article is to formalize this task using only financial variables (without explicitly including non-monetary preferences) and testing it on real Russian data on real estate and mortgage lending markets. The results can be used: a) at the house-hold level, which usually poorly take into account the financial side of the decision; b) at the level of macroeconomic policy to predict the dynamics of the mortgage market. We identified the following key model parameters: the expected rate of growth in housing and rental prices, mortgage interest, and the planned period of real estate ownership. The model demonstrates that for an average of Moscow or Russian housing with enough period of ownership, the purchase is generally more profitable in the cur-rent macroeconomic conditions. However, if the forecast for the dynamics of changes in housing prices worsens, when the nominal price increase is 5-8% lower than the discount rate, the answer may change in favor of renting. This is especially true in connection with the negative dynamics of real prices in the Russian housing market.

Comfort of affordable housing in Russia. Analysis of current approaches in architectural theory

The differentiation of Russian society, which was a consequence of the market relations development, served as a driver for diversification of approaches to housing design. The segment of affordable housing occupies a particular place. The paper is devoted to the analysis of researches, which were carry out in the Russian Federation during the last decades. Modern approaches to the design of residential buildings considered in them. The task of the paper is to systematize the scientist’s proposed interrelated sociological, economic, architectural and engineering methods to improve the comfort of affordable housing. The following conclusions are made: large resources of interdisciplinary expansion of the research field are available; conducting applied laboratory studies adapted to regional socio-demographic and climatic conditions is appropriate and desirable; the introduction of social-oriented design methods is necessary.

The EU in Russia's House of Mirrors

The EU in Russia's House of Mirrors

Analysis and Forecast of Russian Housing Stock Based on New Data Sources

The article offers approaches to assess the age distribution of housing stock and develop scenario-based forecasting for housing stock changes in terms of volume and quality characteristics based on fundamentally new high granularity data (multifamily residential database, My Building). The approach allows for a refined assessment of the current condition of the state of the housing stock at the national and subject levels of the Russian Federation. Based on the estimated forecast for housing stock decommissioning and specified value of target housing per capita parameter, we assessed the need for new housing construction volume. The results can be used to work out a development strategy in the housing sphere.

Standardization as a Necessary Condition Improving the Quality of Housing in Russia

Standardization as a Necessary Condition Improving the Quality of Housing in Russia

Social Marketing as a Factor for Competition Development in the Sphere of Managing Blocks of Flats

The reform of the Russian housing utilities sector started about thirty years ago. Nowadays the word reform is used in the mass media not so often, the government document concerning the housing utilities sector does not contain this word either. Some politicians claim in their interviews that the problems of the housing utilities sector are not so urgent nowadays. The article reveals that these problems have become latent, and, despite the fact, that there have been several achievements in this sector, none of the proposed goals of reforming the housing utilities sector, that are important for the market economy, has been achieved. For instance, there is no competition between companies managing blocks of flats; such a competition was expected by the reformers. The article emphasizes that though the housing utilities sector is developing and the amount of managing companies is continuously increasing, the housing utilities fees do not depend on the quality and quantity of these utilities and are guaranteed for the managing companies that are very difficult to replace. The article proves the negative impact of homeowners’ passivity on competition development, causes for it are considered and systematized in the context of opportunities the social market can provide to diminish them. The article proves that a range of problems arising while one puts into practice the state idea of having active homeowners in blocks of flats can be solved with the help of social marketing programmes. The probable actors of social marketing are defined, some of its instruments and channels are demonstrated. The article proposes a set of principles necessary for creating and putting into practice social marketing programmes aimed at solving problems of making customers of housing utilities sector demanding and creating competition in the housing utilities sector.

To the problem of development of low-rise housing in Russia

The issue of providing the population with comfortable and affordable housing has always been rather acute in our country. The solution to this problem, taking into account the trends in the creation and transformation of the urban environment into the most reliable, comfortable and affordable, may be the mass construction of low-rise housing. Of primary importance in solving the problem of mass construction of low-rise housing is the maximum industrialization of construction and installation work, which should be provided at the design stage in order to reduce labor costs at the construction site, where only assembly and installation work from structures of full factory readiness should be performed. In this aspect, the unification in the design and production of building steel structures will allow creating a system of typical design of civil buildings, including low-rise residential buildings, on the basis of steel frames for mass construction and solving the problem of affordable and comfortable housing in Russia.

Technological, economic and legislative opportunities and barriers for panel apartment buildings energy efficient reconstruction in Russia

In the middle of the twentieth century there was a need for a significant amount of housing in Russia as soon as possible caused by the necessity to restore buildings destroyed during the war years, as well as rapid urbanization. Panel apartment houses have become an excellent solution to this problem, due to the simplicity and short construction time. However, recently such buildings do not meet the requirements of comfort, safety and economy. Not only Russia, but also the countries of Eastern Europe, Germany and Japan faced this problem at the turn of the century. In this article, analogues of the panel houses renovation with increasing energy efficiency of their thermal envelope in different countries are considered. It is conducted a comprehensive analysis of the existing legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of reconstruction. Technical opportunities to improve the comfort and energy efficiency of panel buildings and their economic advisability were considered by the example of panel apartment building in Ekaterinburg.

Yu.A. Pisarev on the Russian emigration in Yugoslavia

It is well known that Soviet academician Yu.A. Pisarev devoted his particular attention to the Balkans on the eve of the First World War. Taking a further step he published an article about the Russian emigration in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Russian House in Belgrade created by the emigrants, and the library located there which was later destroyed in the course of the Second World War. This article was one of the first works in the USSR devoted to this topic. Pisarev's life and scientifi c stance is fully displayed in the work.

Housing Rent Dynamics and Rent Regulation in St. Petersburg (1880-1917)

This article studies the evolution of housing rents in St. Petersburg between 1880 and 1917, covering an eventful period of Russian and world history. We collect and digitize over 5,000 rental advertisements from a local newspaper, which we use together with geo-coded addresses and detailed structural characteristics to construct a quality-adjusted rent price index in continuous time. We provide the first pre-war and pre-Soviet index based on market data for any Russian housing market. In 1915, one of the world’s earliest rent control and tenant protection policies was introduced in response to soaring prices following the outbreak of World War I. We analyze the impact of this policy: while before the regulation rents were increasing at a similar rapid pace as other consumer prices, the policy reversed this trend. We find evidence for official compliance with the policy, document a rise in tenure duration and strongly increased rent affordability among workers after the introduction of the policy. We conclude that the immediate prelude to the October Revolution was indeed characterized by economic turmoil, but rent affordability and rising rents were no longer the dominating problems.

Housing Rent Dynamics and Rent Regulation in St. Petersburg (1880-1917)

This article studies the evolution of housing rents in St. Petersburg between 1880 and 1917, covering an eventful period of Russian and world history. We collect and digitize over 5,000 rental advertisements from a local newspaper, which we use together with geo-coded addresses and detailed structural characteristics to construct a quality-adjusted rent price index in continuous time. We provide the first pre-war and pre-Soviet index based on market data for any Russian housing market. In 1915, one of the world's earliest rent control and tenant protection policies was introduced in response to soaring prices following the outbreak of World War I. We analyze the impact of this policy: while before the regulation rents were increasing at a similar rapid pace as other consumer prices, the policy reversed this trend. We find evidence for official compliance with the policy, document a rise in tenure duration and strongly increased rent affordability among workers after the introduction of the policy. We conclude that the immediate prelude to the October Revolution was indeed characterized by economic turmoil, but rent affordability and rising rents were no longer the dominating problems.