Prices for older flats in Prague, Brno and Ostrava have risen by one percent year-on-year. For example, in Prague last January the price per square meter was CZK 115,500, this year it was CZK 121,500. Last year’s decline in the price of apartments has thus stopped, and sometimes they are already reaching maximum offer prices as in 2022. However, there are fewer apartments on offer and many sellers are waiting to sell until enough buyers appear on the market. Rents in Prague and Brno have also risen by one percent year-on-year, while prices in Ostrava are flat. This is according to an analysis by the real estate agency Sreality.cz.
“In Prague, there was a very small drop in prices last year and now prices are more or less at the same level as they were at the period of maximum offer prices in 2022. In contrast, in Brno or Ostrava, for example, the price drop was noticeable, the difference between the maximum and the new minimum was 16 percent in both cities,” said Šarlota Smutná, a data analyst at Seznam.cz, of which Sreality is an affiliated brand.
Last year, offer prices in Brno fell from an average of CZK 106,000 to CZK 88,500 per square metre, while in Ostrava they fell from CZK 51,500 to CZK 43,000 per square metre. Since then, however, prices have been rising in both cases and in February this year the average offer price according to the analysis was CZK 96,500 per sqm in Brno and CZK 47,500 per sqm in Ostrava.
According to Hana Kontriš, manager of industry services at Seznam.cz, some buyers still cannot afford to buy their own property despite the reduction in mortgage rates. Many owners are therefore waiting for a better market situation to sell their flats and there are not so many of them on offer. According to Smutná, the number of advertised properties has fallen by up to half year-on-year in some places.
Statistics from the Czech Banking Association Hypomonitor show that interest rates on new loans accelerated this February, falling to 5.36 per cent from 5.54 per cent in January. Banks and building societies in the Czech Republic granted mortgage loans worth CZK 15.8 billion in February, up 21 per cent from January. Year-on-year, it is double.
The Czech Banking Association and Dataligence said in an analysis in February that the real estate market in the Czech Republic has been experiencing growth in terms of the number of transactions for all property types since last spring. Sales for new-builds almost doubled year-on-year in the last quarter of 2023, while older flats were up 49 per cent and detached houses 45 per cent. But in the second half of 2022, the market plummeted. Banking association analyst Jakub Seidler expects prices for older homes to rise slightly this year. This will be due to a recovery in the real estate market.
In Prague, the monthly rent for older flats after reconstruction increased by six percent year-on-year from CZK 360 to CZK 380 per square metre. In Brno, rent prices increased by four per cent, i.e. by ten crowns to CZK 290 per square metre. In Ostrava, prices remained the same at CZK 190 per square metre.
Source: Sreality.cz and CTK
