UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 17, 2020. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to start granting new mothers a ‘maternity fund’ for their firstborn could result in the surging supply of small apartments on the housing market, Head of Analytical Department at Ural Real Estate Chamber Mikhail Khorkov states on his Yandex.Zen blog REBURG.

‘The thing is, these payments have only a very limited, if any, effect on the birthrate. The housing market will prove the primary beneficiary of the decision. 86% of families who have already invested their maternity funds did so by directing their money to home ownership,’ Khorkov says.

According to Khorkov, the decision to support new mothers and their first child financially will result in housing developers coming up with a large supply of micro-apartments that cost under RUB 1m. This will make home ownership more affordable for customers on a limited budget.