<p>Residential construction significantly increased last year, with 32,863 apartments completed.</p>

PRAGUE - Residential construction in the Czech Republic significantly grew again last year. The number of completed apartments increased to 32,863, which is 1.8 percent more than in 2004. Construction began on 40,381 apartments, i.e., 3.4 percent more than the previous year. There were 155,202 apartments under construction, which is 5.7 percent more year-on-year. This was announced today by the Czech Statistical Office. This was mainly assisted by the favorable situation in the mortgage market, the higher value of building savings loans, support for young couples, and the planned changes in VAT for residential construction starting from January 2008.
The highest number of completed apartments was also in Prague and the Central Bohemian Region, while the least were completed in the Ústí, Olomouc, and Liberec regions.
New apartments have increasingly been constructed in non-residential buildings, in apartment extensions, additions, and conversions to residential buildings, as well as in residential buildings themselves. In contrast, fewer apartments than a year earlier were started in buildings with nursing services and retirement homes.
The increase in completed apartments was highest also in converted non-residential spaces and non-residential buildings and in residential buildings. There was a decline in apartments in buildings with nursing services and in homes and retirement homes.
The highest share of unfinished construction was in family houses, while the lowest was in apartments in buildings with nursing services and care homes. According to statisticians, unfinished construction has been increasing long-term due to the advance in the number of initiated apartments over the number of completed apartments and also includes apartments whose construction has been temporarily halted.
Last year, nearly 22,000 apartments were modernized, which is 41.5 percent more than the previous year. The most modernization was done in Prague and the South Moravian Region, and the least in the Liberec Region and in Vysočina.

Number of initiated apartments in 2005 by regions of initiated apartments:
Czech Republic total - 40,381
Prague - 8,124
Central Bohemian - 9,565
South Bohemian - 2,359
Plzeň - 1,698
Karlovy Vary - 677
Ústí - 1,385
Liberec - 961
Královéhradecký - 1,970
Pardubice - 1,711
Vysočina - 1,633
South Moravian - 4,887
Olomouc - 1,760
Zlín - 1,645
Moravian-Silesian - 2,006