VISUALIZED: How fast Prague apartment prices are rising

If you’re looking to buy a home in Prague, prepare for a tough reality. Purchasing a 70-square-meter apartment now costs the equivalent of 14.7 years of gross wages. That’s a significant jump from a decade ago, when you would have needed just 9.7 years of earnings, according to Central Group’s housing affordability index.

Even though wages have grown slightly faster than housing prices in recent months, Prague remains the least affordable housing market among Central European capitals.

A 70 square meter apartment now costs CZK 11.25 million, according to Central Group's methodology. This figure was almost three times smaller a decade ago, hovering around the CZK 4 million mark. Wages may have surged since, but real estate prices have become far higher.

If you’ve noticed more apartments on the market, you’re not alone. In the first nine months of 2024, 5,350 apartments were sold in Prague—double the number sold during the same period last year. By the end of this year, developers expect total sales to reach 7,000 units, matching the record highs of 2021. But don’t expect prices to slow down—apartment costs have risen 7 percent year-on-year, with new units now averaging CZK 160,720 per square meter.

Thinking about the future? Developers are planning 146,000 new apartments, but only 5,270 construction permits have been issued this year. Experts say that at least 10,000 permits are needed annually to meet the city’s growing demand.

According to the National Economic Council of the Government, fixing this problem requires bold action, such as streamlining permits and increasing state investments in housing projects.