Rough wooden constructions became cheaper last year, but the prices of turnkey wooden buildings increased

Prague - The prices of rough wooden constructions fell last year compared to 2023, but some wooden buildings built on a turnkey basis became more expensive. The construction of load-bearing foundations for wooden bungalows in 2024 decreased by 17 percent year-on-year, and for multi-storey buildings by five percent. Prices of single-storey turnkey wooden constructions remained the same compared to 2023, while multi-storey buildings increased by ten percent. This follows from data from the Association of Manufacturers of Prefabricated Houses (ADMD), which is available to ČTK. According to them, the demand for wooden constructions in the last year remained stable year-on-year. The average floor area of houses built for clients by ADMD members was about six percent smaller than last year.

The price of a rough bungalow construction, according to ADMD, averaged around 2.4 million crowns, while a turnkey bungalow cost approximately 4.8 million crowns excluding the foundation slab and VAT. The price of a rough construction for a multi-storey house was one million crowns higher than for a single-storey house. A turnkey multi-storey house then cost 6.3 million crowns.

"We currently see the use of wood in extensions and additions to existing structures, which investors are renovating and using wood due to the speed of construction and low weight. Where we see an increased number of implementations and a new growing trend are large wooden constructions, which include residential and public building projects. More and more contracting companies are starting to focus on them, and wooden constructions are therefore seen more frequently in development projects and public tenders," said ADMD director Blanka Nováčková.

Currently, the construction of large wooden buildings in the Czech Republic is limited by building and fire regulations. These allow wooden constructions to be built up to a maximum height of 12 meters. However, politicians and builders are currently addressing a change in fire standards that would allow the construction of pure wooden buildings up to 18 meters high. In combination with other materials, buildings could reach up to 22.5 meters. According to Nováčková, this update could be completed in the second half of this year. However, when its implementation will occur and the possibility of using it in realized projects is still unknown. "We are monitoring the situation and are in close contact with the team working on this change. This update should not affect ongoing projects in 2025, but it will certainly be reflected in projects planned for the coming years," added Nováčková.

Last year, for example, a wooden project started in Žďár nad Sázavou, which should have 34 affordable rental apartments in two separate buildings. In Prague, the developer UBM completed the Timber Praha project in Řeporyje, consisting of four buildings with 62 apartments. Additionally, there are plans for the construction of a wooden primary school in Říčany, which is expected to be the largest wooden construction in the Czech Republic in the future.

According to the ČSOB housing index, sales of family houses, in general, also stagnated last year. In the last quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2023, houses increased in price by 6.3 percent. An analysis by the real estate platform FérMakléři.cz shows that the prices of older houses rose by seven percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, and a house of 150 square meters thus cost an average of six million crowns.