Finance Minister: govt’s mortgage rate freeze saves families €84 million

The government freeze of rates on retail mortgage loans in place for the first half of 2022 will save Hungarian families 30 billion forints (€ 83.9 million), the finance minister said on Sunday.

The government is working to shield families from global price increases, Mihály Varga said in a video posted on Facebook.

The scheme to cap utility bills protects Hungarian households from soaring energy prices, he said, noting that the government had also capped fuel prices.

But inflation is also affecting interest rates, the minister said. In the case of floating-rate mortgages, accelerated rate rises could have added 23 percent, or an average 11,000 forints, to borrowers’ monthly instalments, he added.

Varga said the mortgage rate freeze would save some half a million families a combined 30 billion forints.

He said that in the year ahead the government would continue its fight against the pandemic, keep working to protect families from its effects on the economy and work to maintain the advantage Hungary had gained by the relatively early restart of its economy.