I have been working with mortgages since 2008, and in my experience what costs clients the most money is not a bad rate, but acting too late.
When to start: 36 to 12 months before the fixed-rate period ends
The usual advice is to deal with your fixed rate six months ahead. In my experience, that is too late. The working window is from three years to one year before the fixed-rate period ends. Leaving it until the final year is practically suicide — by then, you are no longer the one doing the choosing.
The reason is simple. With two or three years ahead of you, you can calmly watch where the market is heading, get your documents ready and negotiate as someone who is in no hurry. With three months left, you are negotiating as someone whose new payment is about to kick in and who has no other option.
This does not mean signing anything three years in advance. It means that during that window I keep an eye on the market and have the documents ready, so that when the moment comes when it makes sense to act, we are not held up by paperwork.
What happened between 2016 and 2026
To make clear what kind of money is at stake, this is how average rates on the Czech market have developed:
| Period | What it was | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 11/2016 | all-time low | 1.91% |
| 03/2021 | bottom of the cheap era | 1.98% |
| 12/2021 | the market turns | 2.85% |
| 09/2023 | peak | 5.37% |
| 07/2026 | latest CNB figure | 4.76% |
Where the figures come from and what they mean. These are Czech National Bank statistics — interest rates on new business in mortgage loans for residential property, banks including building savings banks. The series has been kept since 2004 under a consistent methodology, so it can be compared over time.
But it is an average for the whole market, not an offer for you. It also includes refinancing and renegotiated rates on existing loans, which tend to be cheaper. The offer you actually get is often higher — I have a client on file who signed at 5.94% in December 2023, while the average for that month was 5.31%. So the table shows which way the market went, not what you will get.
If you fixed for five years in 2021, your fixed-rate period is ending right now. If you fixed for three years, it is already behind you. On an ordinary mortgage, the difference between the rate back then and the rate today is not a few hundred crowns a month, but several times that. That is why the end of a fixed-rate period is not something to leave until the last minute.
Why nobody will tell you where the bottom is
Nobody knows where the bottom is. I didn’t call it either. I don’t sell predictions — I sell certainty.
When someone asks me whether they should wait because rates might come down, I give them a straight answer: I don’t know. Nobody does. It is the same as with shares — anyone who claims to know where the bottom and the top are is either mistaken or selling you something.
But that leads to a fairly clear approach. When the number is historically good, I lock it in for as long as possible — not because I know what is coming, but because I know what is here now, and I don’t want to be dealing with it again a year later.
What that meant in practice
In 2020 and 2021 I rang round my clients and refinanced them onto eight- to ten-year fixed rates. At the time, banks and most advisers were offering three to five years. My clients didn’t believe me — we had to sit down together and model how much they would pay if the rate shot up to three and a half percent. Back then, that sounded like science fiction.
Today, offers at some banks are getting close to six percent, and those people are still paying the same instalment as in 2021.
Not one of them asked me for that phone call. That is the whole difference between an adviser who arranges your mortgage and disappears, and one who keeps watching over it for the next twenty years.
Three things that decide what the rate really costs you
1. The length of the fixed-rate period
The rate is one number. The fixed-rate period determines how long that number lasts and when you will be exposed to the market again. The lowest offer usually comes with the shortest fixed-rate period — and that is precisely why it may not be the best choice.
2. When you can leave, and at what cost
In 2021 you could move to another bank practically at any time, and it cost you only the land registry and charge registration fees. Since 1 September 2024, new and stricter rules have applied (Act No. 462/2023 Coll., which amended the Consumer Credit Act): if you repay in the middle of a fixed-rate period, the bank is entitled to compensation for its costs.
Watch out for the transitional provision — it affects a lot of people. The new rules do not apply to everyone across the board. They apply to contracts concluded from 1 September 2024, and to older contracts only once a new fixed-rate period begins for them after that date. In other words: if your current fixed-rate period was agreed before 1 September 2024, you remain under the old, much milder regime until it ends, where, according to the CNB’s interpretation, the bank may only charge its actual administrative costs. That is a fundamental difference, and it needlessly puts off people for whom switching would pay off.
You can always repay the loan free of charge at the end of the fixed-rate period. In the middle of a fixed-rate period, it depends on which of the two regimes you fall under — and the bank will calculate the exact amount for you in advance on request, so there is no need to guess.
3. What is tied to the rate
Many of the lowest rates are conditional on other products — insurance, an active current account, a regular income paid into it. That in itself need not be a problem, but you have to be able to add it all up. A rate two tenths of a percentage point lower, with insurance you don’t want, is not cheaper.
Frequently asked questions
When should I start dealing with the end of my fixed-rate period?
In my experience, between three years and one year before it ends. The six months people usually recommend is too late — in the final year you are no longer negotiating from a position of strength. The point is not to sign anything that early, but to have your documents ready and keep an eye on the market.
Is it worth refinancing before the fixed-rate period ends?
It depends on when your current fixed-rate period started. If it was before 1 September 2024, you are under the old regime and early repayment will cost you only administrative costs — in which case it may well pay off. If it was after that date, the new rules apply and the bank is entitled to compensation, which the law caps; whether it pays for itself can be worked out in advance. You can always repay the loan free of charge at the end of the fixed-rate period.
Is a short or a long fixed-rate period better?
It depends on whether today’s figure is good from a historical point of view. If it is, it makes sense to lock it in for as long as possible. A short fixed-rate period is a bet that rates will fall — and nobody knows that. Shorter fixed-rate periods tend to carry lower rates precisely because you are the one bearing the risk.
Do I have to stay with my bank when my fixed-rate period ends?
No. At the end of the fixed-rate period you can get an offer elsewhere as well and compare. That is why you should start in good time — comparing offers and possibly switching takes a while, and at the last minute you may not make it.
How much does a consultation with a mortgage adviser cost?
You pay me nothing for the consultation — I am paid by the bank you eventually take out the mortgage with, and you can ask me how much at any time. With the banks I work with, going through me will not get you a worse rate. If a bank offers you a better deal directly — typically its own offer at the end of the fixed-rate period — I will tell you, and we will compare.
Is your fixed-rate period ending within the next three years?
Write to me, I will get back to you and we will go through it together. I don’t need any documents from you at the start — just tell me which bank your mortgage is with and when your fixed-rate period ends. In a single phone call we will work out whether it makes sense to do anything.
Leave your details +420 725 032 139Marketing communication. This text is for information only; it is not an offer or a personal recommendation and it contains no forecast of future developments. The actual terms always depend on the assessment of the particular bank. Jan Roztočil, Czech business identification number (IČO) 76037061 · tied agent representing a single company, Broker Trust, a.s. · supervised by the Czech National Bank.