The uncertainty that prevailed in the Czech commercial real estate market in the second half of 2022 has been reflected in Q1 2023. Although the market is already calmer, according to Colliers' experts, it is still awaiting a relatively long period of stabilization.

The planned Highest Construction Office (Nejvyšší stavební úřad) and the system of regional construction offices subordinate to it will not be established in the Czech Republic. The construction authorities will remain within the municipalities, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reports.

The Czech industrial and logistics market reached the 11 million sqm mark at the end of the first quarter of 2023. It has grown by more than 1 million sqm over the past 12 months. During Q1 2023, a total of 217,900 sqm of new industrial space was completed, representing an increase of 25 % quarter-on-quarter (Q4 2022 vs. Q1 2023). Approximately 1.23 million sqm of industrial space is currently under construction, 34 % of which is being built on a speculative basis. Despite the high volume of new completions, the vacancy rate remains low, at the level of 1.4 %, JLL reports.

Penta Real Estate is finishing the construction of the new Motel One hotel in the centre of Prague near Masaryk railway station. According to the development company, the total investment in the hotel, which will be part of the Cloud One Line chain, came to CZK 1.2 billion (€51.2 million) over six years of preparation and construction. The hotel is scheduled to open in the spring of 2024.

A fund of the Generali insurance holding has sold a set of properties in the centre of Prague. The new owners of the individual houses are two companies, a manufacturer of sanitary equipment and a developer. All parties refused to comment on the transactions in detail, writes the online daily Seznamzpravy.cz.

As a result of a legal dispute between real estate tycoon Radovan Vítek's CPI Property Group and businessmen Marek Čmejla and Jiří Diviš, a Cypriot court has reportedly ordered banks to freeze CPI Property Group's assets worth almost CZK 13 billion (€553 million), according to the German economic newspaper Handelsblatt, cited by the Czech daily Hn.cz. CPIPG, however, denies the German newspaper's information, saying that the interim measure is not in force and that no accounts have been seized or assets were frozen.

The Prague office market has experienced a decline in the construction of new office buildings over the last three quarters which has also been reflected in a decline in speculative construction. Whereas a year ago almost 80% of offices under construction did not have a secure tenant, this share has now fallen to 52%. Tenants were looking for office space in established office locations in the vicinity of Karlín in Prague 8 and Pankrác in Prague 4 in the first quarter. A quarterly analysis by international consultancy JLL shows that 7.5% of modern office space in Prague is currently vacant, which corresponds to 289,100 sqm of space. However, the supply of so-called subleases, which are not included in the official vacancy register, is also growing. According to JLL's latest analysis, there could be around 80,000 sqm of sublease space.

Industrial properties in the Czech Republic are still very full. The vacancy rate in Prague and its surroundings alone is almost zero for the second year. Rents are also rising, with some locations seeing an increase of almost 100% compared to their original terms, according to the latest report on the Czech industrial property market from companies associated with the Industrial Research Forum.

CTP is contributing to the carbon neutrality of the warehouses of CTPark Prague North with the use of trapezoidal sheets made of XCarb ‘green’ steel, manufactured by Arcelor Mittal. It will be added to the entire roof area of a warehouse designated D8.7B with a total area of 32,000 sqm. This resulted in a saving of 835 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of 348 people living without a car for 1 year.

Crestyl has unveiled its new residential project. The project will be built next to the vast Šárka Nature Park in Prague 6 on the site of the current Šárka Business Park industrial and logistics complex (former Aritma). The new free-access residential area with park areas will include 18 villas with a total of 224 apartments, six family houses near the border with the forest land, a kindergarten and premises for services and shops. The architectural and urban design of the buildings and public spaces emphasises the connection with the nearby forest. The project received final planning permission in February this year. Construction of the first phase, which will include 108 apartments, is scheduled to start next year. The total investment will exceed four billion crowns (€170.15 million).