Prague, Dec 28 (CTK) – The interest in luxurious housing, such as large villas and apartments in Prague centre, has risen in the Czech Republic this year, daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) wrote on Wednesday.
While only a year ago, real estate agents had problems to sell huge family houses of hundreds of square metres near Prague and luxurious villas from the period between the wars for dozens of millions of crowns, the situation has been changing now and the demand for them is high.
“Quite expensive family residences, but also specific real estate, such as mills and farmsteads, sell better now,” M&M real estate holding area manager Jan Bares told HN.
Other real estate agents have confirmed his words.
The rising demand has been primarily caused by the favourable economic situation, which is the most apparent in the capital of Prague, HN writes.
“Prague experiences a boom in all aspects – not only a rise in the real estate prices, but also the economic growth. Unemployment is the lowest in history, firms are thriving and they employ foreigners in managerial posts again. The consequence is an increasing interest in quite luxurious and above-standard apartments,” Maxima reality agency director Vladimir Zuzak told HN.
In the past few years, foreigners dominated the Czech market with luxurious real estate. However, their number has started dropping of late. The reason is mainly the weakening of the rouble due to which the number of Russian clients buying expensive housing has decreased, HN writes.
At present, Czechs and Slovaks prevail among the buyers of luxurious residences. However, clients from Asian countries might play the most important role in the future. Their number has been rising year-by-year, according to real estate agencies.
Besides, investors from Western Europe are buying expensive apartments in the Czech Republic as they expect their prices to even rise and their later sale to be profitable, HN says.
The number of Czechs purchasing expensive real estate in the country is higher than that of foreign buyers now, but mainly foreigners are renting luxurious housing, most often for one or two years, HN says.
The highest demand for luxurious real estate is in the centre of Prague. Since there are almost no empty lots there, firms focus on reconstructing residential houses in the centre, HN writes.
The largest and most luxurious three-storey apartment of some 1000 square metres was recently built on the last floor in Liliova street in the Old Town of Prague. It was sold for the record high price of 250 million crowns, HN writes.
Developers are also building expensive housing complexes in the broader centre of Prague or they locate a few luxurious apartments within the housing projects offering flats of various categories and price levels, HN writes.
