Home mortgage sales in Turkey jumped by 1,000% year-on-year in July, as buyers rushed to benefit from low-interest loans unleashed by public banks, the Environment and Urbanization Ministry announced Thursday.

Mortgages surged to 141,434 units during the month, the ministry said in a statement, citing data from the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre.

Some 14,348 home mortgages were made in July of 2019.

The country’s largest metropolis, Istanbul, led the way in sales, followed by the capital Ankara, the western province of Izmir, northwestern Bursa and Kocaeli.

Some 27,426 houses with mortgages were sold in Istanbul, with most of them being in the city’s Esenyurt district. Ankara followed with 18,556 units, while 10,741, 6,060 and 5,066 houses were sold in Izmir, Bursa and Kocaeli.

The nation’s three largest state-owned banks, namely Ziraat Bank, Halkbank and VakıfBank, began offering products including mortgages and credit for home appliances at below-inflation interest rates in June.

The ministry said home mortgage sales since June 1 have hit 250,792 units.