Apartment prices are still rising in the Czech Republic, at the sixth-fastest rate in Europe

Prices for flats in the Czech Republic increased in the first three months of 2020. Prague had the highest prices per square meter and the largest number of transactions. The Czech capital, however, did not see the largest year-on-year jump in prices.

In the first quarter of this year, apartment prices in Prague and regional cities rose by an average of 13% year on year to 65,400 CZK per sqm. This was the highest growth rate in the last two years, according to consulting firm Deloitte based on data from cenovamapa.org.

The most expensive flats in Q1 2020 were in Prague, at 88,100 CZK per square meter on average, while the cheapest were in Ústí nad Labem at 21,000 CZK per sqm.

Prices for flats in Prague varied according to the area. The most expensive apartments were in Prague 1 at 159,800 CZK per sqm and Prague 2 at 121,900 CZK per sqm. The cheapest were in Prague 10 at 77,700 CZK per sqm and Prague 9 at 80,600 CZK per sqm.

In the first quarter, 5,734 flats were sold for 23 billion CZK in development projects, brick houses and paneláks (prefabricated buildings). While the number fell by 5.9% year on year, the value increased by 8.5%. Development projects accounted for 45% of the total volume, apartments in brick houses accounted for a quarter and paneláks accounted for less than a third.

Prices of flats in paneláks increased the most, by 14% year-on-year to CZK 51,300 per sqm. Prices of flats in development projects rose by 12.6% to 75,200 CZK per sqm. In brick houses, they increased by 9% to 65,400 crowns per sqm.

Year-on-year growth in house and apartment prices in the Czech Republic accelerated to 9.5% in the first quarter. Compared to the last quarter of 2019, prices increased by 2.6%. The EU average for Q1 2020 was a 5.5% year-on-year and 1.2% quarter-on-quarter growth.

Prices of houses and flats rose the most in Luxembourg, by 14%; followed by Slovakia, up 13.1%; Estonia, up 11.5%; Poland, up 11.3%; and Portugal, up 10.3%. Prices rose in all countries except Hungary, where they fell by 1.2%. Data for Greece was not available.

Compared to other EU countries, real estate prices in the Czech Republic grew the fastest continuously from the last quarter of 2016 to the end of the third quarter of 2017. The highest growth was in the second quarter of 2017, when houses and flats in the Czech Republic rose by 13.3% year on year.