Last year, Czechs returned to purchasing real estate after several years of hesitation. Neither expensive mortgage loans nor rising housing prices deterred them.
Developers in Prague even reported such high sales figures that they came close to the record set in 2021, when interest was driven by exceptionally cheap housing loans. High demand is expected to persist this year, bringing further price increases.
In 2023, companies in the capital sold 7,200 new apartments—an 80% increase from the previous year. This data comes from major development firms Central Group, Skanska Residential, and Trigema, which have been tracking market trends for the past 13 years. Over this period, last year ranked as the second-best year in terms of the number of apartments sold. Three years ago, developers had only sold 250 new units.
The surge in demand is driven by buyers’ fears that apartment prices are once again on the rise. “Those looking to purchase a home this year understand that prices for new projects will only increase, so they are trying to take advantage of the best offers available in current developments,” says Josef Lebeda, a real estate expert at Resimo.
According to Marcel Sural, chairman of the board at Trigema, strong demand is expected to continue in 2024. Lebeda agrees, adding that many buyers also anticipate lower mortgage interest rates, which could further fuel demand.
This sharp market rebound is bad news for those just starting to consider buying property and unable to act quickly. Once again, they will have to pay higher prices for real estate.
Prices have already reached historic highs. In the fourth quarter, the average listing price of new apartments in Prague was 163,203 Czech korunas per square meter. This means that a typical mid-sized 70-square-meter apartment cost developers nearly 11.5 million korunas.
Last year, new apartments became 7% more expensive. Experts estimate that prices could rise by another 5–10% this year.
