Praha is the third least accessible city for purchasing a new apartment in Europe

Prague – Prague is the third least accessible large city in Europe for purchasing a new apartment. On average, people need 15 gross annual salaries to buy their own apartment in the Czech capital, which is 1.7 salaries more than last year. Only Amsterdam and Athens are in a worse situation. Additionally, rental prices continue to rise in Prague, and average mortgage interest rates remain among the highest in Europe. This is according to the Property Index of the consulting firm Deloitte.

Last year, Prague was the second worst in housing affordability among the monitored European cities. This year, it has slightly improved its position; however, the situation in the Czech capital has worsened, and more annual salaries are needed to purchase an apartment. In Amsterdam, 15.4 annual salaries are required for a new apartment, and in Athens, it is 15.3 annual salaries. In contrast, the most affordable housing is in Turin, Italy, and Odense, Denmark, where people can buy a new apartment for 4.9 annual salaries.

"Even this year, Prague ranks among the capitals with the worst accessibility to home ownership in Europe. The situation remains unfavorable, and significant changes are not yet in sight. The gap between wage growth and real estate prices keeps widening, as wages are unable to keep pace with soaring residential housing costs. This structural imbalance poses a long-term problem for affordability and sustainability in the market – especially for first-time buyers and middle-income households," said Miroslav Linhart, managing partner of the financial advisory department at Deloitte.

With rental prices, Prague was among the more expensive cities in Central and Eastern Europe in 2024, with an average price of 405 crowns (16.5 euros). The highest rents were in Luxembourg, where rents were 43.4 euros (1065 CZK) per square meter. Paris followed with 32 euros (796 CZK) per square meter and Dublin with 31.7 euros (778 CZK) for rental of a portion of the area.

Deloitte calculates affordability based on the average annual gross salaries needed to acquire a new own apartment of an average size of 70 m² in each of the individual countries. According to the latest data from the Czech Statistical Office, the average salary in Prague was 62,472 crowns in the first quarter. According to an analysis by the development companies Central Group, Skanska Residential, and Trigema, the square meter in new Prague apartments cost an average of 170,594 crowns in the second quarter. Their price increased by 8.8 percent year-on-year and by 1.6 percent quarter-on-quarter. At the same time, developers in Prague sold 4,300 new apartments in the first half of the year. This is 23 percent more than last year and also the second-best semi-annual result in the last 15 years.

The Czech Republic also ranked 14th out of 25 monitored countries in terms of apartment construction. Last year, an average of 3.34 housing projects per 1,000 inhabitants commenced in the Czech Republic. The highest number of newly initiated construction projects in 2024 was in Ireland, followed by Turkey and Israel. At the opposite end of the ranking were Albania, Italy, and the United Kingdom.