The average mortgage rate fell to 1.94 percent in January from 1.96 percent in December. The rate fell for the tenth month in a row. This follows from the data of Fincentrum Hypoindex. In January, the volume of mortgages provided fell by more than CZK 4.5 billion compared to December last year. However, the volume of agreed mortgages increased by more than CZK 8 billion year-on-year.
“Compared to previous months, January was not one of the strongest, however, as the beginning of the year, with the volume of loans provided of CZK 24.942 billion, it is the best start to the new mortgage season in the entire history of Hypoindex,” said the mortgage.specialist Fincentrum & Swiss Life Select Jiří Sýkora.
Given that the price of resources has been rising for several months and the riskiness of loans is gradually increasing, he said the continuing decline in the average rate is surprising. However, the share of non-performing loans is not yet as high as banks expected in the first wave of the pandemic, he added.
Compared to December, the number of provided mortgages also decreased in January, by 1,571 to 8,380. Nevertheless, the mortgage market only managed a more successful start to the new year in the number of provided mortgages in 2017, when banks arranged 8665 mortgages .
As with several months in a row, the average mortgage rate has been falling, so at the same time their average amount increases. Now it has reached 2,976,346 crowns . However, according to Sýkora, the growth of the average mortgage slowed down in January. While during December the average mortgage increased by almost CZK 80,000, in January it was only CZK 10,000. This may indicate a slowdown in real estate price growth.
Source: CTK and Petria-cz
