More than half of Czechs are planning to change their housing situation or are currently changing it, most often they want to buy a property or reconstruct their existing housing. Compared to last year, however, interest in changing their housing fell by six percentage points, while the number of those who completely rule out changing their housing situation increased from 17 to 21 percent. The reason for this is the continuing difficult economic situation. This is according to a survey conducted by Ipsos for Wienerberger.
According to the survey, the majority of Czech residents live in apartments, typically with three to five rooms. Smaller flats are dominated by rented housing, while larger ones are owned. More than two-fifths of Czechs live in family houses, usually with four to six rooms.
Roughly one tenth of those who want to change their housing situation, i.e. renovate their current housing or move to a larger or own property, are already working on the change. Roughly a quarter of respondents who are yet to change their housing are considering buying a house and 13 per cent are considering building a family home. The remainder plan to live in apartments or renovate their current residence. Wienerberger attributes this recovery in the real estate market to the declining supply price of real estate and the need to protect savings from inflation, according to the report.
Four percent of Czechs plan to build their own family home, according to the survey. Most investors plan to combine building on their own with help from craftsmen or companies. A quarter of families intend to build the entire house on their own to save labour costs. The number of investors interested in turnkey construction fell from 28 percent to 21 percent year-on-year. “It’s cheaper. We can work in stages, whenever the finances are there. If we were to have professionals, we need to have our finances together, and you can’t do that these days unless you want to underwrite the bank,” said one respondent.
Outside of new construction, the trend of renovations, which the survey authors say has been going on since the coronavirus epidemic, continues. Last year, 31,967 building permits were issued for residential premises, of which renovations accounted for 46 percent. “Apart from the need for urgent repairs, the fact that the cost of reconstruction is in the hundreds of thousands plays a significant role in this trend, and people often invest their savings in housing reconstruction to protect them from inflation and, moreover, to value their property,” the company said.
Currently, a quarter of Czechs are renovating or planning to renovate their property, very often with their own forces. The majority are redecorating the interiors, a fifth are repairing or will also repair the external masonry and 17 per cent are changing the roof.
The survey was conducted by Ipsos among about 1,000 respondents aged 20 to 60 across all regions. Men made up 70 percent of respondents, the rest were women, all with a net monthly household income of over CZK 15,000. Wienerberger is the largest producer of baked bricks and roof tiles in the Czech Republic.
