Czech property portals explained: Sreality, Bezrealitky and others

Open a Czech property portal for the first time and the screen looks familiar: a map, a price slider, a grid of photographs. Then the details start to differ. The layout is "2+kk", the price carries a note about commission, the ownership is "osobní" or "družstevní", and the same flat shows up three times with three different agents. A foreign buyer who treats it like a portal at home soon reads it wrongly.

This explainer describes how the main Czech portals work, who is behind the adverts and how to use them without being misled. It names the large platforms as examples of how the market is organised and does not rate them or recommend any listing.

The big names and what they do

Sreality.cz is the largest general portal. It is run by the Czech internet company Seznam and carries sale and rental adverts from agencies and private owners across the country. Bezrealitky.cz was built around owners listing directly, without an agency, though agency adverts also appear on most platforms now. Reality.iDNES.cz is the property section of a national news site, and there are several others, including portals tied to large agencies and aggregators that pull adverts from other sites.

Agencies also publish on their own websites, and developers of new-build projects run their own sales pages. Our guide to search channels sets the portals beside agencies, developers and auctions.

These platforms differ in design and in the mix of adverts, but the model is the same. They earn money from the people who list, not from the people who search. Agencies pay for placement, for promoted adverts and for featured slots. That is why browsing is free, and why a top position often means a paid one.

Reading a Czech advert

Several terms appear in almost every advert. The layout code, such as 2+kk, means two rooms plus a kitchenette. 3+1 means three rooms plus a separate kitchen. Our guide to flat sizes and layouts decodes the notation, and the glossary of listing terms covers the rest.

Look for the ownership form: personal ownership (osobní vlastnictví) or a cooperative share (družstevní), which is a different asset, as our explainer on cooperative flats shows. Check the price basis. Some adverts state the price including the agent's commission, some add it, and some say "price on request". Look at the area, and whether it is the floor area of the flat or includes balconies and cellars; see floor area measurement standards. Look at the building: panel block, brick, new-build.

The energy class must appear in the advert, and the seller or landlord must hand over the certificate or its substitute (as of 2026; check the Ministry of Industry and Trade). Our explainer on energy performance certificates says what to ask for.

Why the same flat appears several times

A seller can sign with more than one agency, and each agency lists the flat. The photographs differ, the descriptions differ and sometimes the prices differ by a small amount. The effect is that a market with a few hundred flats on offer can look like one with many more. Before you ask for a viewing, check whether two adverts show the same kitchen. If the listing prices differ, that is a signal about the agents' pricing strategies, and a reason to ask the seller's agent which version is current.

Old adverts stay up after a flat has sold, or a stale price remains. Check the date of the last update, and ask the agent directly whether the flat is still available.

How to search

A workable method has four steps.

New-build projects, which are often marketed on their own pages rather than on the general portals, can be browsed on a map of new developments on Novostavby.com (in Czech). For rentals, the platform has a list of new-build flats to rent (in Czech). If you are renting rather than buying, see our guide to renting a flat in Czechia as a foreigner.

Asking prices are not sold prices

The price on a portal is what the seller hopes to get. It is the start of a negotiation, and flats often sell for less, though how much less changes with the market and the district. The portal does not tell you the sold price. To judge a flat, ask the agent for recent sales in the same building or street, compare several similar adverts and watch how long a flat stays listed. A flat that has been up for months with a falling price is telling you something. Official price statistics from the Czech Statistical Office and the cadastre are slower, and they describe the market as it was, not as it is this week. Our overview of prices by district shows how to read the district picture.

Language: what to do if you read no Czech

The portals are mainly in Czech, and the descriptions are in Czech. A browser's translation function handles the text well enough to understand the main points. Use it, but do not rely on it for the details that matter in a contract. Agents with English-language listings often say so in the advert, and an English-speaking agent can be a useful filter. For the documents themselves, see property contracts in English, which explains what is legally binding when two languages are used.

Scams and warning signs

Fraud on property portals exists, and most of it targets renters. The warning signs are consistent. A price far below the market. An owner who is "abroad" and cannot show the flat but wants a deposit by transfer before a viewing. Pressure to pay quickly. A refusal to provide the ownership extract or to meet in person. Photographs that appear in other adverts at other addresses.

The check is simple. Pull the ownership extract from the cadastre, which is public, and make sure the person you are dealing with is the owner, or holds a valid power of attorney. Our guide to reading an ownership extract shows how. Our piece on agents and fees explains what an agent may charge.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Is Sreality the only portal I need?

It is the largest, but not every flat is on every portal. Use two or three portals, and check agency and developer sites.

Do portals charge buyers?

Browsing is free. Agencies and owners pay to list. An agent's fee is a separate matter set by the contract.

Are the portals available in English?

The interfaces and adverts are mainly in Czech. Browser translation helps, and some agents write English adverts.

Can I trust the area and price in an advert?

Treat them as the seller's claims. Check the area and the owner in the cadastre and the price in the contract.

A practical next step

Set up three saved searches on two portals for the same area. In a week you will see which flats repeat, which are stale and which are new. That is the market.

This is a general explainer, not legal, tax or mortgage advice.