To be a small and dynamic company, which makes decisions quickly based on consensus and its own analysis and reasoning. These are the secrets to being the most active investor in Prague even in the past two difficult years, according to Českomoravská Nemovitostní (ČMN’s) new CEO, Karel Bor, who talked to Property Forum about the company’s investment strategy.

Palmovka in Prague 8 and Nové Dvory in Prague 4 are the largest areas where Prague development company (PDS – Pražská developerská společnost) plans the largest changes and development of new districts. PDS is preparing projects in a total of 12 localities where up to 8,000 urban rental flats should be built, announced the company director Petr Urbánek together with the Deputy Mayor of Prague, Petr Hlaváček at a press conference.

In line with the growing popularity of flexible and hybrid work models, many companies are relocating, changing size and trying to re-fitting their offices. This could be one of the reasons why Prague placed second in the CEE region in terms of the price of fitting out an office. Nevertheless, the key reasons are the tightening supply chain and challenges around labour, which are set to continue well in 2022 and beyond. The average costs per sqm in Prague are currently €1,037, which is half of what it is in top German cities or in the UK where the median cost exceeded €2,000, Cushman & Wakefield presents in their report.

There are strange dances around the reconstruction of the baroque Savarin Palace in the centre of Prague. The CZK 10 billion project has been approved by the city's conservationists and city councillors and the first phase of the project is already underway, according to the builders. However, the Ministry of Culture has now rejected the project, saying it would threaten the city's conservation area, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reports. Therefore, Culture Minister Martin Baxa has a request on his desk from the construction company Crestyl to review the decision of his officials, as company spokesman Ondřej Micka confirmed to Property Forum today.

Less than a year before completion, developer J&T Real Estate CZ is selling its Red Court office centre in Prague's Karlín district. BlackBird Real Estate will become the new owner immediately after approval, the online daily Seznamzpravy.cz reported about the transaction.

The second full-service apartment building with fully furnished apartments is being opened in Prague for short- and long-term living by Zeitraum, a leading operator of serviced apartments in Central-Eastern Europe.

A part of the Prague-based residential project Hagibor, which is being built by Crestyl Group, is now owned by Invesco Real Estate. The acquisition concerns the third phase of the residential part of the project, namely the Delta building, which is already under construction and is to be used for rental housing in the future. The price of the transaction, which was reported by the daily E15, was not published.

YIT has started construction of the Happi Milánská project in Prague's Horní Měcholupy and has put 72 new Finnish-style apartments of up to 99 sqm on sale. The residential building with access to both the countryside and the city centre will also include three commercial spaces. The developer plans completion in spring 2024.

The Prague office market in Q1 2022 experienced a further increase in vacancy, across the entire city. However, gross take-up recorded a year-on-year increase of 44% and thus returned to pre-pandemic levels. The increase in prices throughout the city is still felt especially in construction projects, mainly due to rising costs for materials and construction work, reports the Czech branch of Colliers in their regular survey.

The number of completed flats in the Czech Republic increased in the year 2021 by half a percent. A total of 34,581 flats were completed last year. However, the rising figures are due to extensions, while the number of flats completed in detached and apartment buildings fell. In the future, according to statisticians, it can be assumed that new construction will decline for many reasons, writes the Czech News Agency (ČTK) based on the statistics published today by the Czech Statistical Office (CSO).