The housing market in the Czech Republic has seen a significant price increase in recent years. Following a slight drop in 2022, the prices for flats available for sale in the country’s largest cities rose again in 2023. For example, a 75-square-meter flat in a panel house in Brno now costs 6.75 million crowns, seven percent more than a year ago, according to data from Sreality.cz. Only newly built flats in Prague have slightly decreased in price.
In January, offer prices for flats in the capital city increased five percent yearly. The increase was even higher in Ostrava, where prices rose by nine percent, two percent more than in Brno. While sellers in Prague asked for an average of 121,500 crowns per square meter, the price in Brno was 95,500, and in Ostrava, it was 47,000.
According to Šarlota Smutná, a data analyst at Seznam.cz, “At the beginning of last year, we found ourselves in a period of falling prices, but during the year, prices either stagnated or slightly increased. In these cities, prices rose, and offer prices increased several percent after a year.”
Interestingly, the number of advertised properties significantly decreased in this year-on-year comparison, in some places by as much as fifty percent. Only in Ostrava did the number of offers increase, albeit only by a few dozen flats.
Finally, thanks to the lowering of interest rates by the Czech National Bank, average mortgage rates are now heading towards four percent. “The entire market is optimistic that more buyers will appear in this context. However, a more noticeable rate decrease would certainly shake up the development more,” says Hana Kontriš, manager of industry services at Seznam.cz.