Real Estates

What is the situation on the real estate market in Prague?

During the long period of communism from 1948 to 1989, the state produced housing of very poor quality, at least according to the standards for space and quality customary in Western Europe. Nearly two thirds of Prague's population live in such buildings, referred to pejoratively in Prague slang as "panelaky", or prefabricated houses. Therefore, since the Velvet Revolution, with the dominion of market law, there has been an enormous demand for flats of higher quality which cumulated in the past. This explains why real estate agencies sell flats on drawing, so that when the construction is finished, everything has already been sold. Furthermore, a very low mortgage rate interest is increasing the demand for flats even more, although recently this pressure has somewhat weakened due to the growing offer of flats and houses.

How much does a flat in Prague cost, or in any other city in the Czech Republic?

As in the rest of the world, the price per square meter (m²) depends on the location. The further from the center, the lower the price. Concerning Prague (1.2 million inhabitants), it is necessary to take into account that the city has a very efficient system of public transport, especially owing to the metro and the trams which connect the outskirts to the center, a journey taking some 15 to 25 minutes. Another point which has to be considered is that one square meter of living space in Prague is understood as net, meaning the surface area of the flat behind the entrance door, excluding walls and external common spaces. Prices range between EUR 1,000 and 4,000 per m² in new or refurbished buildings (as of July 2005, EUR 1 = CZK 30).

Outside Prague, the prices are much lower, depending on the town in question and the location within this town. Special types of real estate are industrial infrastructures, buildings and palaces, game forests and arable fields, which can also be acquired in the form described herein.

What are the dimensions of the flats or houses?

The average surface area is some 60 to 70 m², which includes an entrance hall, a living room connected to a kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom, a toilet and increasingly often, one or two balconies. Of course, there are much larger flats on offer, as well as some which are much smaller, only 40 m². Owing to the hard winters, the quality of the material is good. As for houses, there is an extraordinary variety: From terraced houses up to mansions of 35 rooms with a park and everything in between.