Austrian Home Prices Drop Most in Decade After Loan-Rules Tweak

Austrian home prices tumbled the most in more than a decade at the end of last year, as tighter credit rules exacerbated a continent-wide slowdown in property markets.

(Bloomberg) — Austrian home prices tumbled the most in more than a decade at the end of last year, as tighter credit rules exacerbated a continent-wide slowdown in property markets.

Residential real-estate prices slipped 1.9% in the fourth quarter from the prior three months, the most since 2011, according to data from the Austrian National Bank. That lowered the annual pace of increase to 5%, the first single-digit reading in two years.

Tighter mortgage rules announced by Austria’s financial regulator are augmenting a market slowdown that’s a result of rising interest rates across the globe. Banks and Austria’s government have called for a review of the loan limitations just months after they entered into force.

Prices for old-build apartments in Vienna showed the biggest quarterly decline, down 3.2%, while new flats outside the capital continued to rise.

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