Banks lent out nearly CZK 27 billion in mortgages in November, putting them on course to set a new annual record depending on the results for the last month of the year. In addition to concerns over economic disruption and a lack of competing investment alternatives, Czechs are crowding into the residential market because of ultra-low interest rates. Money now costs the average consumer just 1.98 percent per year, a figure not seen on the market since 2017. The banks lent CZK 25.21 billion. The total number of mortgages in November grew by 523 to 9,323 compared to the previous month, which was 2,000 more than in 2019. While mortgages rates fell, the speed with which banks are cutting them is lower than it was in the past. “The reason is primarily the price at which banks are sourcing money and other loans on the inter-bank market,” said the economist Jiri Sykora. “It’s the price of money on the inter-bank market that began to increase quickly in November.”
