BRATISLAVA, June 21, (WEBNOVINY) — Availability of housing in Slovakia increased over the first quarter of this year. An analysis by Tatra Banka shows that the availability of housing hit a the new high in the monitored period since 2002. “After a steep increase in availability in the fourth quarter of 2010 driven mainly by lower interest rates, the availability edged even higher again due to falling rates,” said analyst with Tatra Banka Boris Fojtik.
The current value of the housing availability index for the whole of Slovakia is 90.7 points, according to the bank. An average Slovak household would spend 27 percent of its monthly gross income to repay a regular mortgage installment in the first quarter of this year. In the fourth quarter to last year, it was one-third of the income. “In the first quarter of this year also the development of real estate prices and wage development contributed to higher availability. The contribution of these two factors on the housing availability however was lower together than the influence of interest rates,” said Fojtik.
The positive phenomenon on the real estate market is that the driving force are buyers with a real need of a home, which is highly beneficial for the price development and does not contribute to a threat of price bubbles. This is why the bank does not think that the beginning of the cycle of increasing rates would considerably hit the development of the residential housing market.
Home availability is highest in Nitra County while it is worst in Bratislava County, which reflects prices of real state in these regions.
SITA
