Czech mortgage lending rises 54% from a year ago

Czech banks and building societies provided mortgages worth CZK 52.6 billion (€2.1 billion) in May, 54% more than a year earlier, according to the Czech Banking Association’s Hypomonitor. However, lending fell 14.5% from April, while new mortgages excluding refinancing dropped 14% to CZK 38.1 billion. The average mortgage interest rate increased to 4.67% from 4.52% in April. Banks issued 7,871 new mortgages, up 20% year-on-year. The average loan reached CZK 4.84 million, 17% higher than a year ago, reflecting continued growth in Czech property prices.