The Czech development community has been warning for years now that difficulties in securing permits would have drastic consequences for the supply of new flats. But while these predictions have been borne out by rapidly rising prices for residential real estate, a corner may have been turned in recent months. New figures show that during the first half of the year, construction began on more than 19,000 flats in the Czech Republic. It’s the highest such figure in ten years, writes Hospodářské noviny. The biggest increase was in the Liberec region, where work got underway on 931 units, double the number from a year ago. The increase in the Karlovy Vary region is 60 percent higher. The biggest demand is for flats on the edges of the larger towns, thanks to prices within the city spiraling out of control. “In general, we’re registering the biggest interest in districts such as Prague-East, around Uhřiněves, Řičany, Úvaly and especially Brandys nad Labem,” said the operational director of Fincentrum Reality Andrea Daňhelová. The pace of construction starts rose the most slowly in Prague, just 35 percent, to 2,457 units. Developers don’t expect prices to fall, however, since the increase in supply can’t make up for years of stagnation in residential completions.
