czech property news

Some recent Czech property news items:

More banks lower mortgage rates

ČSOB, Hypoteční banka, mBank and Raiffeisenbank in the last week lowered their mortgage interest rates by 0.3-0.4 percentage points, following a similar move last week by Komerční banka and Česká spořitelna. Bawag will reduce its rates today. For 20-year mortgages worth CZK 1.8 million, the cuts will reduce the monthly payment by CZK 300-500 a month.

Demand for mortgages on the rise

The country's leading mortgage provider, Hypoteční banka, reported loan volume of CZK 8 billion in July and August, an 11% increase year-on-year. Raiffeisen said that its own summer mortgage lending was up y/y by about 20%, and UniCredit reported 30% higher mortgage lending. Mortgage brokers and most banks confirm the rising demand for housing loans, as the year started out slowly but could end quite well.

Flat price not to decrease

According to the real estate company RE/MAX a reduction in flat prices is not expected within the next few months. As the economic situation is stabilised and the mortgage rates are lower once again, there is no reason for a slump.

Regulated flat rents in Prague could double

Regulated rents in Prague could increase on average by almost 46% next year. According to the Prague municipals it is expected that the rents in the higher standard flats will rise by 11 – 30 CZK/m² and the rents in the lower standard flats by 16 – 30 CZK/m². The rents for the flats owned by the city will then on average increase to 48 – 95 CZK/m².

CSO reports 25% y-o-y increase of flat prices

Average flat prices rose by 25.4% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2008. Prague prices grew more slowly at 19%, while the increase in some regions topped 31%, the Czech Statistical Office said. Prague inhabitants who want to buy a flat must prepare on average CZK8,500 more for one square meter than one year ago.

HSBC to enter Czech mortgage market

British bank HSBC plans to enter the Czech mortgage market next year, providing housing loans to individuals. This new product should be part of the expansion of HSBC on the local banking market. Currently more than 15 financial institutions operate on the Czech mortgage market.

RPG RE to invest CZK 17bn in reconstruction of flats

RPG Real Estate will spend CZK 17 billion on the reconstruction of more than 44,000 flats located in the northern Moravian towns of Ostrava, Orlová, Havířov, Karviná and Opava. The decision is opposed by a majority of the tenants who prefer to buy the flats and finance the reconstruction on their own.

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