If the Czech National Bank hoped that raising interest rates would throw some cold water on the residential market, then it’s working. The number of mortgage loans signed in April fell by 1,191 to 7,896 compared to March. According to Hypoindex, that was 659 loans fewer than in April 2017. And fewer loans means less money borrowed: the volume of mortgages fell CZK 2.3bn month-to-month to CZK 16.bn. Tomáš Holub of the Czech National Bank told Czech Television says that stricter guidelines concerning mortgages (like limiting loans of more than 90 percent LTV) are helping to cool off the market. “The measures are mildly effective, but they’re not so strong so as to make access to credit dramatically worse,” said Holub. “It’s more that the spiral isn’t constantly increasing.”
