Russians massively default on mortgages, owing 276 billion rubles - intelligence

The situation with mortgage debts in Russia continues to worsen and is reaching proportions that are difficult to ignore even within the framework of official statistics. As of the end of 2025, Russian citizens have defaulted on mortgage payments and interest totaling 276 billion rubles, UNN reports, citing the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.

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Over the year, the indicator increased by 76.6%. Compared to 2023, the volume of overdue payments increased by 180%. In fact, the problem has almost tripled in three years.

In monetary terms, the largest volumes of "toxic" mortgages were recorded in the Moscow region — 9.7 billion rubles, in Moscow — 7.99 billion, in the Krasnodar Krai — 7.75 billion, in Tyumen — 4.8 billion, and in St. Petersburg — 4.8 billion. These are regions with relatively high incomes and an active real estate market, which indicates that even economically strong territories cannot withstand the financial burden.

At the same time, other federal subjects are leading in terms of the growth rate of overdue payments. In the Republic of Tuva, non-payments increased 4.8 times in the first 11 months of last year. In the Republic of Mari El, debts quadrupled, in temporarily occupied Crimea — 3.7 times, and in the Tyumen region — twofold. This dynamic indicates a sharp deterioration in the solvency of the population, especially in regions with less diversified economies.

The total volume of non-performing loans of individuals in the Russian banking system reached 2.3 trillion rubles by the end of last year. Over the period 2023–2025, this indicator increased by 64%. This includes not only mortgages but also consumer loans and other obligations. The increasing share of non-performing loans creates additional pressure on banks, forcing them to form reserves and limit new lending.

Experts in the Russian banking sector assess the prospects for improving the situation with restraint or outright pessimism. The reasons cited are general economic instability, declining real incomes of the population, and a high level of household debt burden. The rising cost of debt servicing, fluctuations in the ruble exchange rate, and inflationary pressure only exacerbate the problem.

Negative trends are also noticeable in the consumer sector. In 2025, laptop sales in Russia decreased by 15–30%. Distributors explain this by cost adjustments: consumers are postponing purchases of durable goods. However, the decline also affected basic categories. In the first three quarters of last year, butter sales in natural terms decreased by 12%. This indicates that savings are shifting to the segment of everyday goods.

Thus, the combination of rising overdue mortgage debts, an increase in the total volume of non-performing loans, and a drop in consumer demand forms a stable trend towards a cooling of economic activity. In the absence of structural changes or a significant improvement in macroeconomic indicators, risks for the banking system and the domestic market will persist.

It should be recalled that, according to "Rosstat", wage arrears in Russia for 2025 increased 2.3 times, reaching a record high in 9 years. More than 14.7 thousand Russians did not receive over 2 billion rubles, which indicates economic exhaustion due to the war.