Czech mortgage loan volume strengthens in August

Interest rates for mortgages have continued to rise in the Czech Republic, but this hasn't stopped growth in the demand for long-term real estate financing. Hypoindex reports that the average interest rate for a mortgage loan rose slightly to 2.53 percent in August, but that a total of 8,475 loans were concluded, 1,459 more than in July. Josef Rajdl, Fincentrum's chief analyst, said that many of the top banks left rates where they were in August. "Basically they didn't want lose clients to the competition just before the Central Bank-recommended tightening of the bonity tests," he said. The new guidelines recommend loans not exceed nine annual salaries of the borrower and that monthly installments not exceed 45 percent of the borrower's wage.