Due to inflation and rising energy prices, student housing is likely to become more expensive everywhere. Brno is catching up with Prague, the search for student flats is in full swing, mainly in Moravia.
Also this year, about 50,000 newly enrolled students will go to universities. Tens of thousands of them will then look for new accommodation in university towns outside the university dormitories. At the moment, compared to last year, they pay extra in most places: on average around 5–6%, depending on the occupancy of the apartment. And prices will continue to rise, driven primarily by energy costs and increased demand for rents from households, which will not reach higher-priced mortgages.
Rental housing prices in many places are growing the slowest in many years, in Prague they are even at long-term lows. However, according to experts, the situation is still unsustainable and a renewed rapid growth of rents across the country is inevitable. Several factors will be reflected in the amount of rents. In the first place, it must respond to inflation, rising construction work prices and the expected rise in energy prices in September.
The gradual rise in the price of mortgages and rising housing prices may pull another wave of interest in subleases on the part of ordinary households, as was the case in January 2019, when interest jumped by 70%. They will then meet university students in the housing market, who, unlike last year, when universities switched to distance learning and subleases did not pay off for students, will again be looking for housing in university towns.
However, as the data from Bezrealitka show, through which the largest number of student sublets is realized every year, the approach of university students is still lax. While two years ago, in an effort to secure the best conditions, students began to be interested in sublease on August 12, this year they are delaying the search.
At the same time, the reality is no longer rosy. Compared to last year, students could save slightly only in Prague and Pardubice, in other university cities they will already pay extra. Most often a hundred crowns more.
“It is a bit of an exaggeration to say that with each week closer to the beginning of the academic year, rents will increase in prices in smaller cities by about fifty, in larger ones by a hundred crowns. Those who secure a rental now can save three hundred to six hundred crowns every month compared to the situation at the end of September,” explains Hendrik Meyer, CEO of Bezrealitka. “It is impossible to rely on cheaper rents. Unfortunately, if rents have fallen or stagnated somewhere, energy charges and prices will erase the difference. ”
The only city where the search for sublets is already in full swing is Brno. Here, rents have been growing significantly since January, and already the lease of a 70-meter apartment is CZK 650 more expensive than last year at this time. And without fees.
“We have been monitoring the increased number of sought-after flats and student roommates in Brno since about mid-August. In the same way, more and more students use our automatic rent estimation system to find out how much housing will actually cost this year, ”says Hendrik Meyer. “Unfortunately, for many, it is a shock how much more expensive housing in the Moravian metropolis has become in just one year. Compared to Prague, Brno students will pay only about a thousand less. That’s the smallest difference in the years we’ve been tracking student rental prices. ”
How much is student housing
The smallest increase compared to last year is in Prague, where two people living in a 70-meter apartment will even save about CZK 210 each (a total of about CZK 10,500 per room). If four students live here, the prices will be the same as last year (a total of CZK 5,860 per bed) – the lower rent will compensate for the increase in fees and energy, which are usually calculated for each resident separately. Students can also live cheaper in Pardubice, where with two people in a 70-meter apartment, they will save CZK 40 each (a total of CZK 6,880 per room). However, if four live here, each will pay CZK 30 extra (CZK 3,750 per bed).
At the opposite end of the scale is Brno. Here, two students in a 70-meter apartment will pay almost five hundred each (a total of CZK 9,250 per room), if four live here, each will have to prepare about CZK 320 more than last year (a total of CZK 5,090 per bed). University cities are also showing growth, where rents have so far been below average. In Ostrava, the price for two students rose to CZK 6,350 per room (about CZK 480) and 3,490 per bed (about CZK 290). Surprisingly, prices also rose in Jihlava.
Source: Bezrealitka
