Ústecký region lags behind other regions in housing construction

Ústí nad Labem – In the Ústí Region, the least number of apartments per thousand inhabitants has been started and completed over the last 20 years compared to other regions. Gradually, the share of apartments in family houses increased, while the number of new apartments in apartment buildings decreased. The greatest development of construction near the city limits was recorded by regional statisticians in the Teplice region. This follows from the data of the regional branch of the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ).

Over the last 20 years, an average of 1.66 apartments per thousand inhabitants has been started annually, and 1.26 apartments per thousand inhabitants have been completed. The most intensive apartment construction in northern Bohemia occurred between 2011 and 2015 in Lovosice, with the following period from 2016 to 2020 taking place in Kadaň and Roudnice nad Labem.

While in 2001 new apartments in family houses constituted less than a third of all started apartments, over the years their share increased and by 2020 they represented more than 67 percent, statisticians reported. In the case of new apartments in apartment buildings, the situation was the opposite; in 2001 their share was over 23 percent, and since 2010 it has never reached even ten percent. Seven homes for the elderly and retirement homes were constructed.

The lowest rate of apartment construction in the last twenty years was in the Most region. In this district, an average of about 68 apartments per 100 started were completed each year. Most's mayor, Jan Paparega (ProMOST), recently told ČTK that there are enough apartments in Most and the city has no plans for any apartment construction. According to the Czech Statistical Office, about 66,400 people lived in the city at the end of 2018. In 1990, Most had 5,000 more residents. After the old town was demolished for coal mining, a new town with many housing estates was built. "The new town was built for about 85,000 residents. We are not addressing a shortage of apartments and we do not plan any apartment construction. We would rather need to demolish some buildings," he said. In the past, the city council allowed several panel buildings in the Chanov housing estate to be demolished.

The highest rate of apartment construction occurred in the Litoměřice district (almost 90 apartments per 100 started) and in the Ústí nad Labem district (nearly 83 apartments per 100 started). Litoměřice has long been among the districts with the lowest unemployment rate in the region, benefiting from its proximity to Prague, which is connected to the district via the D8 highway.

According to the ČSÚ, the most common heating in northern Bohemia was central residential heating, while in apartment buildings, half of the apartments had local heating in 2020. Meanwhile, the energy intensity of family houses in the period from 2011 to 2015 was most often in category C (economical), and for apartment buildings, it was most often in categories B and C. In the period from 2016 to 2020, the majority of apartments completed in both family and apartment houses fell into category B (very economical). Interregional comparisons of the energy intensity of completed apartments are favorable for the Ústí Region according to ČSÚ. The share of apartments with an exceptionally economical energy class (A) has been the second highest among regions over the last ten years, according to statisticians.