The state should use all possible methods to increase demand in the housing markets, presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said Wednesday after announcing that the volume of mortgages could fall by up to 500 billion rubles ($16 billion) this year.

"We'll use all possible methods to lower interest rates," Dvorkovich said after a meeting on housing chaired by President Dmitry Medvedev.

Getting rates to the 10 percent or 11 percent level would be ideal, he said. "If we get to this level, it will be a great achievement."

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov told Medvedev that the average mortgage rate was 13.6 percent, more than 5 points higher than the 19.82 percent average rate reported by CreditMart this week.

The goal could be challenging, however, as the Central Bank's refinancing rate is still 11.5 percent, down from a high of 13 percent in the spring.

The government will also expand its program for subsidizing interest rates on housing construction to include rural developments, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said at the meeting.

"The government has adopted a resolution allowing agricultural producers ... to take out loans for housing construction," Zubkov said.

In addition, the government is planning to boost state investment in housing construction, which will amount to 447 billion rubles this year, Medvedev said. "This is a lot of money," he said.