Competition-weighted exchange rate, TCW index Index, 1992-11-18 = 100 150  150  145  145  140  140  135  135  130  130  125  125  120  120 00  01  02  03  04  05  06  07  08  09  10  11  Note: Outcomes are current rates to 081201 and the forecasts are quarterly averages. Broken line is the Riksbank’s forecast. Source: The Riksbank  14  BIS Review 154/2008  Figure 13. Labour costs, labour productivity and CPI in Sweden and the euro area Average of annual percentage change 2000-2008 4,0  4,0  3,5  3,5 Sweden  Euro area  3,0  3,0  2,5  2,5  2,0  2,0  1,5  1,5  1,0  1,0  0,5  0,5 0,0  0,0 Labour cost index  Productivity  CPI  Source: Eurostat  BIS Review 154/2008  15
News conference  22 September 2022, 10.00 am  Introductory remarks by Martin Schlegel Against the backdrop of current interest rate movements, I would like to give you a brief assessment of developments on the mortgage and real estate markets. Alongside other factors such as construction activity, income and demographics, interest rates have an impact on the real estate market and on demand for mortgages. In turn, mortgage and real estate markets play a key role for banks and financial stability. After a long period of extremely low interest rates, interest rate levels on the money and capital markets in Switzerland have risen substantially since the beginning of the year. As a consequence, interest rates for fixed mortgages have also increased, while rates for SARON mortgages have remained low. Until now, these interest rate developments have had little effect on growth in the mortgage and real estate markets. Prices for single-family houses and privately owned apartments have continued to rise and mortgage volume has also grown further. One possible reason is that actual interest costs for real estate purchases have increased only slightly due to the shift from fixed-rate mortgages to SARON mortgages. By contrast, there are signs of a slowdown in the residential investment property segment. Available data for apartment buildings indicate a slight reduction in prices in the second quarter. Looking ahead, the tightening of monetary policy should also help to ease the risk situation on the mortgage and real estate markets.