<div>Chamber: The availability of housing would be increased by modular and prefabricated construction</div>

Prague - According to engineers and technicians, modular and prefabricated construction could help accelerate the building process and improve housing availability in the Czech Republic. This method can be used not only for wooden structures but also for buildings made of reinforced concrete. Pre-constructed blocks would also reduce overall construction costs by about half of the current market prices. The Czech Chamber of Authorized Engineers and Technicians (ČKAIT) stated this in a press release available to ČTK.

High housing prices have been an issue in the Czech Republic, especially in recent years. The state has responded with financial support for the construction of municipal rental housing and by easing fire and building regulations for constructing tall buildings from wood.

"For both wooden and reinforced concrete prefabricated units, the production and completion of a typical apartment building takes a matter of months. Moreover, at prices that most middle-income citizens could afford, as such realized apartment buildings could be sold at significantly lower prices than the current price level. And what is very crucial is that the final assembly of the building also reduces the demand for the number of craftsmen, who are in chronic short supply,” said Robert Špalek, chairman of ČKAIT.

According to the chamber, the costs for wooden and reinforced concrete parts in the case of residential construction could amount to approximately 50,000 crowns per square meter, which is about half of the average market price according to available analyses. Prefabrication is much more common in wooden constructions, which account for about 15 percent of residential construction in the Czech Republic. Wooden constructions in the Czech Republic are primarily family homes. Most apartment buildings are currently being built according to ČKAIT as original designs for specific building plots, which it claims does not enhance housing quality and drives up construction costs.

According to ČKAIT's calculations, in a reference building with 30 apartments and a total living area of 1500 square meters, rent could be between 220 and 250 crowns per square meter, while the investment in its construction would be recouped in about 18 years. Currently, according to data from Deloitte, the average rent in the Czech Republic is around 326 crowns per square meter, and in Prague and Brno, prices significantly exceed the national average.

The price of a turnkey wooden family home, according to the chamber, ranges from 39,000 to 55,000 CZK per square meter, including VAT. A family modular house of 100 square meters can thus be purchased for between 3.9 to 5.5 million CZK. Additional costs for land acquisition, connection to infrastructure, land preparation, and transportation and installation of the modular wooden structure range from 140,000 to 710,000 crowns. According to data from real estate platforms, family homes in the first quarter of this year were sold for an average of about 41,000 crowns per square meter.

State support for the construction of affordable housing should focus on the creation of rental apartments and can be used for new construction, renovations, or extensions. One condition is that the rent in the supported apartments will be lower than the local average. The income earned from housing should then return to the fund and be reinvested into further construction.

As of August 1, it is possible to build wooden structures up to 22.5 meters high in the Czech Republic, previously it was normally limited to 12 meters. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and a number of experts, the relaxation of regulations will lead to an increase in the construction of wooden apartment buildings and improve housing availability.

Prices for the implementation of modular wooden family homes

Module Type	Single Module	Double Module	Multi-story, triple and multi-module
Price per square meter	43,000 – 49,000 CZK	39,000 – 45,000 CZK	35,000 – 45,000 CZK
Ground Screws	90,000 – 130,000 CZK	205,000 – 250,000 CZK	300,000 – 500,000 CZK
Mobile Crane (Capacity 80 to 120 t)	20,000 – 50,000 CZK	30,000 – 70,000 CZK	30,000 – 90,000 CZK
Transport up to 200 km	30,000 – 60,000 CZK	50,000 – 80,000 CZK	50,000 – 120,000 CZK

Source: ČKAIT