Last year, 9698 flats in Prague received final building permits, which is 5363 more than the year before and the most since 1997, the year from which data is available. This is according to data on the construction industry published by the Czech Statistical Office (CSO). In recent years, the Czech capital has been struggling with a rise in housing prices by tens of percents a year, which the city's authorities say is also due to insufficient construction. Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček said that with the recovery of construction, the prices of flats are expected to get cheaper in the medium term, Czech News Agency reports.

JRD Land, a division of JRD Group, has appointed a new CEO, Alexandra Tomášková, on 1 February 2022. The company has a market value of signed acquisition contracts of CZK 2.2 billion. It now wants to focus on the rapid development of a portfolio of building land and larger land units for future sustainable construction. The development company JRD Development, a member of the JRD Group, is expected to deliver building plots worth up to CZK 15 billion by 2025, the company announced in the press release.

Savills, together with Eastdil Secured, has advised Macquarie Capital Principal Finance and Elite Partners Capital on the sale of a pan-European logistics portfolio, Elite Logistics Fund I to Blackstone European Property Income Fund (BEPIF) for €520 million.

The Czech patent and pins factory owned by Koh-i-Noor Waldes is moving out of Prague after 120 years. Due to the merge with Massag factory the company is heading to Bílovec now. The current owner Pražská správa nemovitostí (PSN) plans to transform the historical factory buildings in the Prague Vršovice complex into a multifunctional project with 550 modern apartments and shops, e15.cz reports.

AFI Europe has taken stock of the results for 2021, a year in which it has been fully committed to implementing its new corporate strategy focused exclusively on rental housing. The company is currently constructing four buildings in three residential projects in Prague. It plans to complete the larger part of them this year.

U.S. logistics giant GXO lands at CTPark Bor. This large unit in the size of 60,000 sqm will lift the Czech/German border market hotspot hub to full capacity. It will boost the development demand at CTP satellite sites in Aš and Cheb too, the company reports.

Thirteen years after the fire in 2008, the large Industrial Palace in Prague has begun renovation. Its reconstruction began on 1 February this year and should be completed within three years. According to the Czech Press Agency, the cost of the reconstruction is expected to be CZK 2.64 billion. The reconstruction will be carried out by a consortium led by Metrostav, Prague's City Hall announced.

Real estate consultancy Colliers has appointed Oana Stamatin as ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Chief Officer in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). 

COVID-19 has significantly changed what clients are looking for across different real estate sectors, including facility management. Libor Holík, CEO of B+N Czech Republic and Slovakia talked to Property Forum about current challenges and opportunities in the facility management business.

Českomoravská Nemovitostní (ČMN) has appointed Karel Bor as CEO and plans to strengthen its position on the market in the nearest future, the company announced on its website.