Supply clearly lags behind demand.
Housing prices in the Czech Republic, for houses and apartments, have surged again. The average increase was 12%. Despite the ongoing rise in the cost of square meters, interest in purchasing one's own housing among citizens remains high.
Data from the analytical portal Flat Zone and the Czech Banking Association indicate an 11% increase in the volume of house and apartment sales in 2025.
Housing affordability in the Czech Republic varies by region. Apartments in Prague and Brno on the secondary market are about twice as expensive as in other major cities in the country.
"It all comes down to the balance of supply and demand. In the long term, supply remains lower, both in the new apartment market and in the secondary market, where people negotiate with each other. Demand exceeds supply, which pushes prices up. Interest in acquiring one's own housing remains high, but it is not so great as to exceed the level of demand," comments Milan Roček, a representative of the real estate market analytical platform Flat Zone.
New and Old Housing Prices Rise Unequally.
– The price difference is quite significant. In percentage terms, new buildings are increasing in price to a lesser extent. Their average price rose by about 9% last year, while apartments on the secondary market, especially in panel and brick houses, increased in price by an average of 18%. However, there are regions where the price growth in percentage terms has been even higher.
It is also important to look at absolute figures. If we take an average panel apartment, then 1 sq. m. in this case has increased by more than 11,000 crowns (€440). We see the same figure for new buildings.
So why do we say that old apartments have increased more in price?
"The fact is that housing on the secondary market is on average half the price of new ones. The absolute price of an old apartment is about 60% or 55% of the cost of a new building. Since new apartments have become quite expensive due to the high cost of their construction, and there are few of them, there is a significant trend in the secondary housing market to catch up with the price level of new buildings.
Traditionally, the most significant housing sales figures in the Czech Republic are recorded in Prague and Brno, the largest cities in the country, where both new and old apartments, as well as houses, sell well. If we take a closer look at panel apartments, the Ústí Region of the Czech Republic leads in this case, where new apartments are simply not being built, notes Milan Roček, an employee of the real estate market analytical platform Flat Zone.
Housing prices in the Czech Republic largely depend on the size of the settlement. Prague and Brno are about three times more expensive than a small town with a population of less than 10,000 people. According to statistics, prices are significantly lower in small towns and rural areas.
The availability of job opportunities in the region also influences the real estate market.
– The decision to purchase one's own housing is related to a person's priorities – where they want to live and work, whether the level of infrastructure development meets their needs, and whether the degree of comfort is satisfactory. The life stage is also important. Thus, a person's priorities change depending on whether they are young or already middle-aged, whether they want to start a family, or, on the contrary, are childless, elderly, or already retired. Additionally, Czechs have a particular characteristic that distinguishes them from many other Europeans – we do not like to move. We simply want to stay in one place, which significantly limits the development of the real estate market and exacerbates our stagnant state.
The interest of Czech citizens in acquiring their own housing is reflected in the state of the mortgage loan market.
"The average mortgage amount has risen to 4.5 million crowns (about €180,000), which is the highest figure in 30 years. This increase is clearly attributed to the rising cost of real estate," believes Flat Zone analyst Milan Roček.
