Prague rents are now higher than Brussels—and climbing

Rental prices in Czechia’s capital are sharply increasing and are now similar—if not more expensive—than other major European cities such as Berlin, Madrid, and Brussels, according to updated statistics from real estate portal HousingAnywhere.

As of the third quarter of this year, the average cost of a studio in the capital is CZK 22,000. The average three-bedroom apartment has also surged to CZK 38,555. The average cost for a room in the center of the city, according to the portal, hovers around CZK 18,000.

This, gloomily, means that the average studio is now more expensive in Prague than in Brussels, and a three-bedroom apartment in the German financial district of Frankfurt is cheaper than the Czech capital, according to the index.

Even a three-bedroom apartment in Vienna—with average salaries over double that of Prague—is cheaper (EUR 1,300 or CZK 33,000) than in Czechia. Budapest is substantially cheaper than Prague, with a three-bedroom costing just CZK 21,500 to rent.

Praguers may at least be thanking themselves that they don’t live in Munich. The German Bavarian state requires renters to shell out an average of EUR 1,650 (CZK 41,800) for a studio, which is over twice the amount as in Prague.

Notably, in Barcelona, the cost of renting a three-bedroom apartment per month is almost identical to Prague levels. Even in Helsinki is it cheaper to rent a shared apartment that it is in the Czech capital.

When it comes to renting individual rooms in shared apartments, Prague is more expensive than Lisbon, Athens, and Dussledorf. The German city of Stuttgart is also much more affordable (by 15 percent) to rent that it is in Prague, despite higher salaries. It’s even more expensive than Milan, though is at least cheaper than Amsterdam, which tops the list of Europe's most expensive rooms.

Budapest and Turin had the cheapest rooms overall, whereas Amsterdam, Rome, and The Hague had the priciest rents.

The Czech capital’s grim housing situation is well documents. Data from consulting firm Deloitte and the Czech Rental Association (ANB) from earlier this year suggest that property rental are rising “moderately” this year—about 5 to 6 percent year on year—especially in larger cities. In 2023, rents rose by around 7 to 8 percent nationwide; a trend reflected by the capital.

According to Deloitte’s Rent Index for the second quarter of this year, it costs CZK 408 per square meter to rent a property in Prague. Contrast this with Ústí nad Labem in the north of the country, where the going price (for rent) is less than CZK 200.

Wondering where the most expensive rental prices in Prague are? It will come as little surprise that Prague 1 is priciest (CZK 472/m²), followed by Prague 2 (CZK 452), Prague 3 (CZK 423), and Prague 7 (CZK 421). 

Experts comment that the influx of students returning to Prague at the end of the third quarter—paired with the city’s recent gulf in supply when compared with rising demand, in part due to extremely long construction-permit processes—edged up prices.