Czechs on the hunt for micro-apartments, over 50% increase in demand
The increasing cost of living is changing the appetites of Czech home buyers. In their search for flats, a growing number are now considering the purchase of micro-apartments – sized between 16 and 30 square meters. In the last quartile, demand skyrocketed by 56% according to an analysis by real-estate platform Sreality.cz.
The demand for more frugal living comes amid a continuing inflation of housing costs, and time is of the essence for many buyers. The average duration of a micro-apartment market listing, according to Sreality.cz, is just under two months. That is 41% shorter, over a month less, than last year.
This makes these units the fastest-selling type of real-estate, but also causes prices to hike even further. The cost of a flat in Czechia is now 16% higher than it was this time last year. New home owners have to lay out an average of over 81,000 crowns – almost 3,300 euro – per square meter.
Hana Kontriš, real-estate manager for Sreality.cz, explains that restricting surface needs in exchange for a more viable price is precisely the trend in today’s housing market, especially in the nation’s capital:
“Micro-apartments are a major topic in Prague. Real-estate in the city is very expensive, which is why many people interested in buying an apartment consider the most economical options, often at the very lower limit of apartment sizes,” she says.
The square-meter price in Prague remains the highest in the country at roughly 141,000 crowns – over 5,700 euro – a 12% increase compared to last year. The most significant increase, however, came in the Moravian-Silesian region. Prospective home owners are now looking at prices 26% higher than last year.
According to Kontriš, this inflation is in large part demand-driven. Decreasing interest rates on mortgages give an impetus to purchase real-estate, which in turn allows sellers to list properties at higher price points.
As a result, apartment rentals become relatively more affordable, despite also becoming 9% more expensive in the same one-year time period. In Prague, for instance, a rental 2+kk apartment will set a tenant back 22,170 crowns, a 3+kk then roughly 35,560 crowns. The mortgage on a comparable, 60 square-meter apartment comes to about 43,000 crowns monthly, over a 30-year period.
