Gross take-up on the Prague office market for the whole year of 2021 increased by 16% compared to the previous year to the level of 387,100 sqm. Prime headline rents also increased in Q4 2021 and ranged between €23.50–24.00 per sqm per month in the city centre. The Prague Research Forum published office market figures for Q4 2021.

B+N Referencia Zrt, as the winner of a tender announced last year, has been awarded with a contract for the provision of cleaning services at the Václav Havel Airport in Prague for another 4 years, starting on 1st January 2022. There were another 12 competitor in the tender, B+N was the only Hungarian headquaterd company.

CTP has appointed Harry Bannatyne as Group Head of Client Relations based in the company’s headquarters in Prague. Bannatyne was previously a Partner and Regional Director Industrial at Colliers in the Czech capital. Prior to that he was National Director, Head of Industrial Agency for the Czech Republic and Slovakia at JLL.

AFI Europe has completed the rough construction of an apartment building in the newly built AFI City district in Prague 9 - Vysočany. A total of 640 apartments are being built on a brownfield site near the Kolbenova metro station, exclusively for rental housing in two separate buildings, which will also include commercial space for shops, services and a restaurant. The construction of the first of them, with 313 units, has just moved towards completion and is successfully heading towards completion in Q4 2022.

Garbe Institutional Capital has launched a pan-European residential real estate fund with a total target investment volume (GAV) of around €800 million. The Garbe European Residential Fund (Garbe EUResi) invests in real estate developments and selectively also in properties undergoing energy rehabilitation. The investment strategy follows a "boots on the ground" approach: the fund only invests in locations where Garbe can act as a local investor through a local presence. The fund’s launch is a milestone in Garbe Institutional Capital’s move to expand into a European residential real estate platform. Garbe EUResi has already received equity commitments of €82.5 million.

UBM Development Czechia has completed the reconstruction of the more than 100-year-old former Cukrovarnicky Palace on Senovážné Square in the centre of Prague. The 176-room five-star Andaz Prague hotel will open in the historic building, marking the Hyatt chain’s entry into the Czech Republic. The hotel will be put into trial operation in early 2022.

The office market is changing due to the coronavirus pandemic, albeit not as dramatically as initially expected. Offices as a concept are definitely not over and working from home is not becoming a lasting standard – it has been confirmed that it has its limitations and that personal contact is irreplaceable. A hybrid model, combining working in the office and at home, will likely be more common. Office space take-up is still below the pre-crisis figures, but the activity on the market has been growing recently. For the time being, the growth has not been enough to justify the growth in rental prices that would be necessary due to an increase in construction material prices, but both can be expected to grow in the future. The crisis has halted the progress of some schemes, so we will not see a major increase in new office stock before 2023. This could result in demand overhang, and thus in increased rents in the years to come, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Investment market experts in the Czech Republic are concerned about the potential effects of high inflation and rising interest rates on the market. At the same time, they remain highly optimistic about the future of logistics and keep ESG at the top of their agenda, according to a recent panel discussion at Prague Property Forum 2021, moderated by Jaroslav Kaizr MRICS, Expert Director of the MBARE programme at VŠE.

Passerinvest Group has begun the construction of the new Roztyly Plaza office building. The building, with a total area of 23,000 sqm from the workshop of the architect studio Aulík Fišer architekti, is going up right by the Roztyly metro station (C line) in Prague 11. Apart from the office function, the project also offers a public P+R parking lot and several retail units, which will significantly expand the local civic amenities.

Occupancy rates in Prague’s hotels were 50% higher during the summer holidays this year in comparison with last July and August, propelling Prague upwards in the European cities’ chart. Room rates exceeded €64 in the summer, also an improvement over last year. Many hotels worked with an operating profit and the growing number of reservations is also a positive sign. Autumn traditionally brings a drop in tourism and thus in performance – September occupancy rates are still comparable with summer rates and prices are even higher, but there are concerns about another wave of the pandemic and the potential operating restrictions. However, the improved performance in the summer has confirmed again that Prague’s hospitality market has been consistently sought after and popular, and its performance is hindered mostly by external and temporary factors.