The area of former factories and industrial halls in Prague 9 will be transformed into a modern urban district. Skanska is now planning to invest more than CZK 1 billion (€41 million) in the Alfred apartment building there. The building, which is part of the second phase of the construction of the district of industrialist Emil Kolben, is expected to be completed in 2025, reports E15.cz.

YIT has approved the residential project Parvi Cibulka, which was created by revitalising a former factory in Prague 5 into loft-type housing. Only less than a third of the 150 units are left to be purchased. The building also includes nine non-residential premises.

The industrial area of the former Aritma industrial building in Prague's Vokovice will be replaced by a residential district with park areas. After several years of negotiations, the Prague 6 municipal district, representatives of the local residents and the investor, Crestyl, have agreed on this. In addition to the construction of new villas and family houses, the agreement includes extensive compensation for local residents, announced Jakub Stárek, the mayor of the district.

Even though the increase in the amount of new office space in Prague in Q3 2022 was the lowest so far this year and no new construction even began, according to Colliers, there is no need to worry about a lack of offices. In the coming months, developers plan to start speculative construction of approximately 126,600 sqm in new space. Despite original assumptions, the office vacancy rate in Prague, unlike in neighbouring markets, is decreasing and has reached 8.1%. Gross realised demand for 137,700 sqm was the highest level so far in 2022, reported Colliers in their regular quarterly market survey.

Venture capital fund eMan Innovations has announced its new investment in smart modular homes. It is entering Juooh with a 45% stake and intends to further expand its portfolio in the energy sector.

British investment company Verdion has sold the building that houses the headquarters of US courier company UPS for Eastern Europe. The 13,600 sqm building has been bought by Safichem Invest, which is backed by Czech owners. Neither party has disclosed the purchase price. The transaction was reported by HN.cz

When it comes to residential real estate assets, Czechs are oriented largely towards an ownership model. The ratio of owner-occupied to rented apartments in Prague, for example, is approximately 70:30, similar to the EU27 average. Still, the Czech Republic is somewhat behind more advanced markets in terms of market evolution towards new trends. However, with the shift to hybrid working, intense talent searches, and the growth of the business services sector, Prague and other large Czech cities will need more flexible housing solutions soon. The average bid price for a newly built apartment in Prague was approximately CZK 155,000 per square meter during Q3 2022. This represents an increase of 7% since the start of the year, according to an analysis done by Colliers.

The AFIhome Karlín rental residence project with 172 apartments from AFI Europe has been approved. This is the second rental housing project by AFI Europe, this time for CZK 1 billion (€41 million). The apartments will be available for move-in in spring 2023, the developer announced.

Zeitgeist Asset Management continues the complete reconstruction of the almost 100-year-old Dunaj Palace on Národní třída in the centre of Prague. The aim is to return the building to its original splendour and refinement from the 1920s. According to the developer, the spirit of the time in which the building was built will be preserved, but the building will be equipped with the most modern technologies of today. The developer announced that the building will be ready for occupation at the end of 2023.

The Czech industrial market has proven that it is resilient to unfavourable economic factors and therefore it will logically remain a popular asset class that is not at risk of decline. Pavel Sovička, Managing Director of Panattoni in the Czech Republic talked to Property Forum about nearshoring, rising construction costs, changing tenant demand and all other factors that are contributing to rental growth.