Sale prices of older apartments in Prague up by nearly 20 percent

Older apartments in the Czech capital are becoming increasingly unavailable. Over the past year, their sale prices grew by nearly 20 percent, Czech Radio has reported. According to data released by the developer Trigema, prices of older apartments in the third quarter of 2019 increased by 18.2 percent year-on-year to CZK 104,864 per square metre.

"Prices of older apartments increased more than other areas of the real-estate market. Over the past year, they grew by nearly a fifth. At the same time, their availability has dramatically dropped. Over the last 12 months, their offer has shrunk by roughly 50 percent. It shows that there is a huge interest in housing in Prague," the spokesman of Trigema, Radek Polák, told Czech Radio.

The sales of new apartments in Prague in September grew by 3.2 percent year-on-year to CZK 110,117 per square metre.

The most expensive old apartments sold are in Prague 1, for an average price of CZK 163,894 per square metre, followed by Prague 2. The cheapest apartments were in Prague 9, selling for around CZK 88, 636 per square metre, followed by Prague 4 and 10.

The number of older apartments on sale in Prague dropped year-on-year by over 46 percent to 4,029, which is the lowest figure since the middle of 2016, when Trigema started to keep a record.

"The growing demand for older apartments has been driven by the abolition of real estate acquisition tax and favourable mortgage loans conditions. A growing number of people realize that they can valorise their assets by investing in them and subsequently renting them," Mr Polák told Czech Radio.

The highest number of apartments on offer in the third quarter of 2019 was in Prague 4, 5 and 10. The lowest was in Prague 7, one of the most popular residency areas in the Czech capital, and Prague 6. Most apartments on sale had three or two rooms.