Czechs living in rented homes spend more than homeowners, according to a study by the Partners consulting agency, presented on Wednesday. On average, Czechs renting a home pay 1800 crowns a month more than those who own their home. At the same time, flats are rented mostly by people with lower income.

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People who live in their own flat or house spend around 27 percent of their income on housing costs. Those who are renting from private owners pay spend some 37 percent of their income and those renting a municipal apartment spend around 27 percent.

“According to the rules of financial literacy, the ideal housing costs should not exceed 30 percent of your income,” financial adviser of Partners consultancy, Vladimír Weiss, told the Czech News Agency.

The costs of living include rent or mortgage payments, as well as water, energy and other fees.

The survey suggests Czechs prefer to live in their own homes. More than three quarters of those asked regard it as an undisputable advantage, while another 13 percent think it is a major advantage.

Two thirds of respondents who took part in the survey have a flat in private or cooperative ownership, most of them between the ages of 31 and 50 with higher education. One third of people who took part in the survey live in rental accommodation.

People between the ages of 20 and 30 are most pessimistic about the chances of home ownership. Most of them blame the sharp increase of apartment prices which exceeds the growth of salaries. They also believe that home ownership will increasingly become available only to a small group of people.

Based on the recommendation of the Czech National Bank, Czech banks are no longer providing 100-percent loans.

“It is a slightly paradoxical situation. While banks are decreasing interest rates to make mortgages more accessible, the Czech National Bank has been releasing recommendations that make mortgages less affordable,” Vladimír Weiss of Partners Consultancy told the Czech News Agency.

According to data provided by Fincentrum Hypoindex, the average mortgage interest rate dropped in July to 2.68 percent, from 2.76 percent in June. The rate went down for a sixth consecutive month. The mortgage interest rate reached its minimum in December 2016, when it stood at 1.77 percent.