Cheap mortgages continue to push residential sales up, according to Central Group, with 7,000 new flats expected to be sold in Prague before the end of the year. The figure represents a 15-percent jump y-o-y. Central Group reported a 44-percent increase in sales in the first half of 2016, boosting its market share to 20 percent. Out of 712 buyers surveyed, 52 percent used mortgages to pay for their new homes, while 30 percent paid cash, and 19 percent have put off payment until a year after moving in. Mortgage rates have dropped to 1.84 percent, and some banks even offer rates for as low as 1.29 percent.
