Systémová rizika na trhu bydlení v ČR

The impacts of economic crisis on the Czech housing market were, at least till now, relatively moderate. In comparison to other developed countries (e.g. Ireland, Spain, Greece, USA, Denmark, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia or Bulgaria) was the decrease in residential property prices only gradual and the default rate is lagging behind the average of the developed countries. The volatility in residential property prices could follow the accumulation of systemic risks of owner-occupied housing, especially the growing share of low-income households with mortgage debts among home-owners. The article therefore aims to answer following research questions. First, was there significant increase in the share of low-income households repaying their mortgages in the owneroccupied housing sector in the Czech Republic after 2005? Second, was there significant increase in ‘innovative’ mortgage products (e.g. interest-only mortgages, mortgages denominated in foreign currencies etc.) on the Czech mortgage market after 2005? Supplementary question was, whether balanced housing market, i.e. housing market with significant share of rental housing, could be one of the reasons of lower volatility in residential property prices, in comparison to housing market oriented mainly toward owner-occupied housing. The analysis showed that the hypothesis about sharply growing share of low-income households repaying mortgages in the owner-occupied housing sector in the Czech Republic after 2005 can be rejected. Also the share of ‘innovative’ mortgage products in the portfolios of Czech mortgage lenders seems to be rather negligible. Therefore we concluded that there is no evidence about significant accumulation of systemic risks on the Czech housing market. Moreover, the comparison of impacts of economic crisis in selected countries showed that balanced housing market could pose the best protection against negative impacts of economics crisis and against increased volatility in residential property prices.