+420220580154The Czech website Valuo, an online real estate tool for industry professionals, published aggregated sales data for apartments during July and August in 13 Czech cities over the past three years.
The data revealed a trend showing that housing prices have risen across the Czech Republic, not just in Prague. More precisely, the data showed that prices in Prague increased by 38% since 2018 — the smallest increase among the 13 cities surveyed.
Second to last on the list is Karlovy Vary, where housing prices rose by 48% over three years. The city with the highest increase is Ústí nad Labem, with a rise of more than 100%, followed by Ostrava with a 98% increase in the same period.
The founder of Valuo noted that in 2020 alone, housing prices in Ústí nad Labem rose by more than 44%. Nevertheless, the city still has the cheapest housing in the Czech Republic — averaging CZK 31,316 per square meter.
And although Prague ranked last in terms of price increases, it remains the most expensive city in the Czech Republic for real estate — with an average price of CZK 106,750 per square meter. This means that a 75 sqm apartment in Prague costs about CZK 8 million, while in 2018, the same apartment would have cost “only” CZK 5.8 million.
In 2020, second-hand apartment prices in Prague were relatively low: averaging CZK 95,196 per square meter, and crossing the CZK 100,000 mark during Q4. The situation in Prague is similar to other Czech cities, leading experts to conclude that the country is in the midst of a housing crisis driven by escalating property prices. Incidentally, this is not unique — the same situation is unfolding in Israel, with a housing shortage and lack of new construction fueling price hikes.
Data published by the European Union’s Eurostat for Q1 of the year indicates that the Czech Republic had the fourth-highest housing price growth rate among EU member states!
And prices are expected to keep rising in the coming years…
In an interview with Czech Radio, Petr Dufek, Chief Analyst at ČSOB Bank, said he does not expect a decline in the Czech real estate market anytime soon. According to him, even if prices were to freeze for the rest of the year, they would still end up being 8.4% higher than last year’s average!
This means that renting has become a popular housing option for many Czechs — especially in Prague. Evidence of this can be seen in the figures reported by Bezrealitky, a brokerage firm that manages about 20% of the country’s rental properties and approximately 40% in Prague. The company reported 47,000 home and apartment rentals in Prague last year — the highest ever recorded in the country. Other regions are experiencing similar trends; for example, in the Liberec area, there was a 38% increase in rental activity last year.
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