Old Houses and Flats Only 6% Cheaper Than New Properties by End of 2020

2020 brought with it several major trends. Despite the continuing rise in real estate prices, the Czechs’ desire to invest in real estate did not decrease – especially in smaller apartments and older houses with good public transport connections.

Their number increased by 36% year-on-year, supported by greater availability of rental apartments and declining rental prices. In the largest Prague market, rents returned to the level of 2018 at the end of the year.

Key reasons for this development lies in the greater availability of rental apartments and decreasing rental prices. Rent prices equivalent to prices in 2018.

On another note, sale prices of old houses and flats increased despite the Covid-19 pandemic, with a year-on-year increase of 13%, the average price of a house went up to 37 635 CZK per square meter, while apartments increased to 67 517 CZK per square meter.

Real estate prices increased the most, year-on-year, in the Hradec Králové Region (houses by 31%, flats by 24%), in the Ústí Region (houses by 33%, flats by 18%) and the Plzeň Region (houses by 26%, flats by 16%).

Flats in the capital remain the most expensive, where the average price in 2020 was around 95,196 CZK per square meter, followed by Brno and flats in the South Moravian Region, with an average price of CZK 64,999 per square meter. Flats in the Central Bohemian Region have an average price of CZK 53,102 per square meter.

In both Brno and the Central Bohemian Region, apartment prices increased at an above-average 18% rate year-on-year. In the fourth quarter of 2020, for the first time, Prague’s second-hand apartments fluctuated above 100,000 CZK per square meter.

The price of Prague’s new buildings declared by the developers was just below 108,000 per square meter, and at the end of the year, an older apartment in Prague was only 6% cheaper than a new one.

In Prague and Brno, because of the inflating prices, the total area of ​​real estate sold has fallen again, and people are trying to compensate for the increase in prices with smaller flats. On the contrary, in the Central Bohemian Region, people are more willing to pay extra, but this is also due to the fact that a large part of the demand is from neighboring Prague.

Ceny za m2 bytů	Q1 2020	Q2 2020	Q3 2020	Q4 2020
Hlavní město Praha	94 103 Kč	94 619 Kč	92 031 Kč	101 033 Kč
Středočeský kraj	51 005 Kč	51 301 Kč	55 772 Kč	53 958 Kč
Jihočeský kraj	35 323 Kč	38 598 Kč	40 791 Kč	42 672 Kč
Plzeňský kraj	41 042 Kč	42 362 Kč	44 075 Kč	50 041 Kč
Karlovarský kraj	29 662 Kč	28 667 Kč	31 932 Kč	31 696 Kč
Ústecký kraj	18 082 Kč	21 392 Kč	18 929 Kč	22 432 Kč
Liberecký kraj	41 422 Kč	38 050 Kč	42 003 Kč	48 484 Kč
Královéhradecký kraj	41 547 Kč	46 564 Kč	46 490 Kč	48 940 Kč
Pardubický kraj	37 244 Kč	40 374 Kč	40 137 Kč	38 902 Kč
Olomoucký kraj	37 942 Kč	39 228 Kč	38 920 Kč	36 816 Kč
Jihomoravský kraj	61 933 Kč	60 825 Kč	65 797 Kč	68 211 Kč
Zlínský kraj	36 506 Kč	40 618 Kč	41 057 Kč	40 782 Kč
Vysočina	35 596 Kč	41 016 Kč	39 253 Kč	37 959 Kč
Moravskoslezský kraj	24 838 Kč	27 369 Kč	28 888 Kč	26 486 Kč
Celá ČR	65 600 Kč	66 292 Kč	66 697 Kč	71 567 Kč

Ceny za m2 rod. domů	Q1 2020	Q2 2020	Q3 2020	Q4 2020
Hlavní město Praha	74 950 Kč	68 892 Kč	72 035 Kč	70 417 Kč
Středočeský kraj	47 161 Kč	43 276 Kč	43 745 Kč	47 276 Kč
Jihočeský kraj	30 630 Kč	25 523 Kč	24 381 Kč	27 615 Kč
Plzeňský kraj	28 245 Kč	30 541 Kč	28 320 Kč	28 568 Kč
Karlovarský kraj	35 587 Kč	29 656 Kč	14 152 Kč	22 245 Kč
Ústecký kraj	20 178 Kč	22 466 Kč	22 537 Kč	28 188 Kč
Liberecký kraj	26 447 Kč	29 455 Kč	32 418 Kč	27 129 Kč
Královéhradecký kraj	31 129 Kč	26 686 Kč	27 330 Kč	38 414 Kč
Pardubický kraj	24 592 Kč	27 355 Kč	25 966 Kč	27 495 Kč
Olomoucký kraj	22 683 Kč	31 325 Kč	21 694 Kč	29 362 Kč
Jihomoravský kraj	32 184 Kč	33 468 Kč	36 371 Kč	38 688 Kč
Zlínský kraj	23 568 Kč	15 723 Kč	17 642 Kč	16 997 Kč
Vysočina	21 491 Kč	21 526 Kč	17 439 Kč	31 318 Kč
Moravskoslezský kraj	25 805 Kč	23 642 Kč	28 808 Kč	32 787 Kč
Celá ČR	38 063 Kč	36 075 Kč	35 901 Kč	40 426 Kč

Because of the rising real estate prices, coupled with the instability and uncertainty the pandemic presents, a record number of Czechs have rented out their properties, using favorable prices.

Bezrealitky, which have about a fifth of the share of all rents in the Czech Republic, and a 40% share of all rents in Prague, 47,000 houses and flats were rented last year. The biggest number ever documented through the portal. The largest year-on-year increase in the number of leased properties was recorded in Prague, where even 50% more houses and flats were rented. People in other regions also rented out their properties more – 38% more flats and houses were rented in the Liberec region, for example.

The incline towards rents was supported by the stagnation of rental prices. “How long prices remain at current levels will only depend on the recovery of the tourist market. In Prague, we can expect a jump in prices and a decrease in the number of flats on offer when tourism resumes”, explains Hendrik Meyer. “In Brno, where supply is influenced more by local residents, rental prices will be affected mainly by the overpressure of demand.”

Nájem za m2 bytů	Q1 2020	Q2 2020	Q3 2020	Q4 2020
Hlavní město Praha	293 Kč	276 Kč	273 Kč	267 Kč
Středočeský kraj	212 Kč	206 Kč	207 Kč	206 Kč
Jihočeský kraj	168 Kč	169 Kč	177 Kč	162 Kč
Plzeňský kraj	185 Kč	180 Kč	184 Kč	185 Kč
Karlovarský kraj	149 Kč	158 Kč	149 Kč	147 Kč
Ústecký kraj	143 Kč	145 Kč	146 Kč	147 Kč
Liberecký kraj	171 Kč	172 Kč	171 Kč	169 Kč
Královéhradecký kraj	182 Kč	184 Kč	192 Kč	195 Kč
Pardubický kraj	178 Kč	183 Kč	180 Kč	167 Kč
Olomoucký kraj	176 Kč	180 Kč	177 Kč	176 Kč
Jihomoravský kraj	226 Kč	228 Kč	231 Kč	228 Kč
Zlínský kraj	172 Kč	170 Kč	170 Kč	168 Kč
Vysočina	161 Kč	162 Kč	167 Kč	166 Kč
Moravskoslezský kraj	154 Kč	153 Kč	164 Kč	159 Kč
Celá ČR	250 Kč	248 Kč	245 Kč	240 Kč

Number of leased properties in the Czech Republic over time:

• Q2 2019: 8765

• Q3 2019: 9009

• Q4 2019: 8487

• Q1 2020: 9343

• Q2 2020: 12839

• Q3 2020: 12107

• Q4 2020: 12760

Advertised flats and houses for rent in most cases, found new owners and tenants within three weeks of the properties’ listings. Smaller flats and houses in suburban areas intended for sale, usually found their new owners within a month, while large flats and houses needed about a month and a half. Within three months, more than 95% of all residential properties on offer were sold.

“Undoubtedly, the ongoing digitization of the real estate market and the growing desire to offer their properties directly also play a role in the rapid pace of properties being bought or rented out.”

Bezrealitky is the largest service offering the possibility of direct sale or rental of real estate, and at the same time they are one of the most visited Czech real estate websites.

The portal is visited by more than half a million people interested in housing every month, and every month around 800 people sell their property successfully on the platform, and around 4,000 properties are rented.

The portal saved people around 2 billion CZK in 2020 on commissions, which they would otherwise have to pay to real estate agencies.