Despite the strong desire for homeownership, the dream of owning a home is becoming increasingly out of reach for many Czechs.
A new survey reveals that while nearly 90% of Czechs aspire to own an apartment or house, rising property prices and expensive mortgage loans are pushing more people toward renting. This shift has resulted in the highest proportion of renters in the past 17 years. In fact, a quarter of the Czech population now resides in rented housing, with Czech apartments ranking among the most expensive in Europe.
According to a study by Ipsos for Komerční banka, 86% of Czechs still wish to live in their own home. The desire is particularly strong among Generation Z, those born between 1996 and 2009, with over 80% of them also expressing the same wish to own property.
However, developers and property owners often claim that Generation Z is more inclined to rent due to their reluctance to settle in one place. Yet, surveys contradict this view, showing that many still desire to own property.
“We see that Czechs are still trying to find a way to become homeowners despite high real estate prices,” says Michal Pupala, CEO of Modrá pyramida, a building society within the Komerční banka group.
Homeownership remains popular due to historical trends and the perception that owning a home is a stable investment, offering financial security in retirement.
Rising renters and property prices
Unfortunately, fewer people are able to realize their dream of homeownership. According to Eurostat, 25.3% of Czechs lived in rented homes or apartments last year, a noticeable increase from 24% in 2021 and 20% in 2020. Experts predict that this trend will continue, with housing prices expected to rise further. Komerční banka forecasts an 8.1% increase in property prices this year, while the Czech National Bank predicts a 5.7% rise, with a potential for higher increases.
The Czech Republic now ranks among the countries with the most expensive apartments relative to income. “Unfortunately, this is the result of slow construction and insufficient supply of new apartments on one hand, and slow growth of real wages on the other,” explains Jan Gruby, CEO of the real estate agency network RE/MAX.
At the end of 2024, purchasing an average new apartment in Prague or Brno required more than 14 years’ worth of average annual salaries, according to KPMG. This statistic doesn’t account for other basic living expenses, such as food or utilities.
In contrast, cities like Warsaw, Vienna, and Berlin offer a more affordable path to homeownership, where residents only need less than a decade’s worth of income to buy an apartment.
Housing crisis in large cities
The housing shortage is particularly severe in cities like Prague, where people flock for better job opportunities or educational prospects. “If you look at the population growth in large cities and the updating of the housing stock, it turns out that, for example, in Prague and its surroundings, there is a shortage of about ten thousand apartments per year,” says Pavel Kliment, a partner at KMPG responsible for the real estate sector.
The rental market is also feeling the strain, with rising rents and intense competition among prospective tenants. In Prague, an average of 85 people respond to a single rental listing, while in Brno, about 50 candidates compete for each available apartment, according to Bezrealitky.
