In the first half of 2019, just 2,318 flats were sold, a fall of 134 compared to last year and the lowest figure for the last five years. In 2017, developers sold 709 more units than this year and 1,297 more in the first six months of 2016. The boss of the developer Ekospol claims that measures taken by the Czech National Bank have hit the market hard. “The biggest blows to the residential market were the CNB’s mortgage restrictions which severely limited the availability of credit,” he said. “They in effect cut off the entire middle class from owning their own home in the capital with banks estimating that up to one-fifth of the people don’t qualify for a mortgage.” He says that with new flats costing an average of more than CZK 100,000 per square meter, it’s only a matter of time before developers start offering more affordable products.
