In Prague, interest in panel apartments is growing

Prague - Higher prices of apartments in brick buildings are increasing demand for panel housing in Prague. The sale of panel apartments now takes a maximum of three weeks, which is on average five days faster than last year. The average selling time for apartments in brick buildings is about eight weeks. Buyers most often choose apartments of sizes 2+kk and 3+kk in the wider center of Prague. This is indicated by today’s data from the real estate agency Maxima Reality, which is available to ČTK.

"Almost four-fifths of buyers in Prague are interested in apartments of category 2+kk and 3+kk. The remaining part includes studio apartments and apartments of sizes 4+kk and larger. The high prices of apartments in brick buildings are pushing buyers into panel housing estates," said the director of Maxima Reality, Vladimír Zuzák.

According to data from the consulting company Deloitte, at the end of last year, apartments in brick buildings in Prague were selling for an average of 57,600 crowns per square meter, while in panel buildings for 45,300 CZK per square meter.

However, current prices of panel apartments are, according to Maxima Reality, five to ten percent higher compared to last year, and in some locations, they are even rising faster than those of brick apartments. "There is also great interest in panel apartments from investors. The price differences compared to brick apartments are greater than the differences in market rent. Therefore, investors in good locations can achieve better returns when renting a panel apartment," Zuzák added. According to him, there are about 200,000 panel apartments in Prague, and panel housing estates take up about six percent of the city's area.

Good transport accessibility and civic amenities are also having an increasingly significant impact on the market price of real estate. "Today, the greatest interest in panel apartments is in Prague 4 and 10. There is a sufficient number of shops, schools, kindergartens, and sports facilities," Zuzák concluded.