Seven percent of Russians are eligible for mortgages, down from 10 percent in 2007, according to a poll taken last month by the National Financial Research Agency.
Forty percent of respondents said they needed better housing, but only 9 percent felt they were capable of improving their living conditions.
Low income, high interest rates, concern over income stability and rapidly rising real estate prices were listed as the main factors preventing Russians from taking out mortgages, according to the poll of 1,600 people in 150 towns in 40 regions. The margin of error was 3.4 percentage points.
(MT, RIA-Novosti)
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