Mortgages taken by the Israeli public in July totaled NIS 6.6 billion, down 5.7%, compared with June, when mortgages set a record, the Bank of Israel reported.
Total mortgages rose from NIS 5.7 billion in May to NIS 7 billion in June, with a large number of buyers rushing to complete their purchases before the purchase take hike for real estate investors took effect.
The July mortgage total was still more than 30% higher than the NIS 5 billion in total mortgages granted in July 2014.
Of the total mortgages taken in July, NIS 3.1 billion was at variable interest and NIS 3.5 billion at fixed interest.
The Bank of Israel added that the figure included NIS 242 million in mortgage refinancing in the context of the program for encouraging mortgage refinancing, compared with NIS 218 million in June and NIS 233 million in May.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 11, 2015
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