Rentals in Czech Republic increased by 14 percent last year

The average offer price of rental housing in the Czech Republic at the end of last year rose by 13.8 percent to 197 crowns per square meter.

The average offer price of rental housing in the Czech Republic at the end of last year rose by 13.8 percent to 197 crowns per square meter. In Hradec Kralove, the increase was the highest (28 percent). This results from a study by the Deloitte consulting firm, which was published at a press conference.

"Rise in rent is driven by growth in prices on the development market, which is logical, because when I buy it, I have to rent it too, because the rental is not institutionalized, by buying second or third homes, for example, for their children and renting them away, "said Deloitte real estate analyst Petr Hana.

Sales prices of apartments in Prague and regional cities at the end of last year, according to Deloitte data, grew by an average of 10.4 percent year on year to CZK 53,700 per square meter. For this year, Hana expects a slowdown in sales and rental growth rates. "The reason is the state of the Czech residential market, because of the regulations of the Czech National Bank, it will not be sold so much, prices will not fall, but they will be steady," Hana added.

The highest rent was at the end of last year in Prague, an average of CZK 339 per square meter a month. For an average flat 3 + KK with an area of 65 square meters this means roughly CZK 22,000. Following are Brno (234 crowns) and Olomouc (231 crowns). On the contrary, the cheapest rent was in Ústí nad Labem (148 crowns) and Karlovy Vary (157 crowns).

Large differences were between the city districts of the capital. Most expensive was Prague 1 with an average monthly rent of CZK 431 per square meter. Prague 4 was more than a third cheaper.

Compared to 2010, rental rates in the Czech Republic increased by an average of 21 percent. Most in Prague, more than half. Jihlava and Zlín followed a roughly one-third increase. On the contrary, rents in Hradec Králové, Karlovy Vary, and Ostrava increased only slightly.

According to Deloitte in Prague, most of the rental dwellings in regional cities are roughly 193,000. The highest share of rental housing is in Brno (38 percent), followed by Prague (34 percent) and Ostrava (31 percent).

The average share of rental housing in the Czech Republic is 22.4 percent, roughly one million flats. Compared to 30 European countries it is in 12th. The highest is in Germany (50.8 percent) and Denmark (46.6 percent). On the contrary, Romania, Slovenia, Hungary, and Slovakia do not reach even five percent.

Rental housing is mainly in the Czech Republic owned by municipalities and individual owners of rental units. There are several private rental housing providers on the domestic market today. The largest are Residomo (43,000 dwellings), CPI Flats (12,600 dwellings) and CIB Group (1,700 dwellings).