The Prague 14 municipal district has managed to start construction on a 30-year neglected area near the Černý Most metro station. It was only possible when the municipality took over the area affected and was able to improve it. This finally began to happen in mid-September this year, when the construction of a new modern multifunctional building started on the site. What is new is that the Prague 14 councillors at their December meeting approved the conclusion of a contract for the construction and financing of the building with the company Dostupné bydlení České spořitelny (Affordable Housing Česká spořitelna, DBČS). The latter will invest CZK 200 million (€8.156 million) in the project. The total cost of the project is estimated at €25.7 million.

Marek Blaha, Head of affordable housing developer Dostupné bydlení České spořitelny, talked to Property Forum about the necessity of expanding the overall availability of housing in the Czech Republic. According to him, one of the strategies to solve such a problem could lie in augmenting the proportion of rental housing and this could be supported by the cooperation of banks, municipalities and developers.

A new premium-quality privately-owned student residence has been launched as part of the Student Depot chain. Offering a total of 540 rooms and located at the junction of Modzelewskiego Street and Wilanowska Avenue in Warsaw, the facility was constructed on a turnkey basis by Kajima Poland. 

Trei Real Estate GmbH has obtained the building permit for its first rental housing development in Poland. Named UP2U and consisting of three buildings, the development will create a total of 460 one- to three-room apartments with a combined floor area of around 20,000 sqm in the immediate vicinity of the town centre of Poznań. 

Property developer Finep has sold a house with rental apartments in Prague 9 to Mint's residential fund. The former Veltex building in Poděbradská Street is expected to bring mainly small apartments to the rental housing market within about two years. According to the daily e15.cz, the transaction is worth almost CZK 1 billion (around €40 million). 

AFI Europe Czech Republic, a developer that has been focusing on the construction of rental housing in recent years, has already achieved 50% occupancy in its two newly completed buildings: the AFI Home Karlín at the corner of Thámova and Pernerova streets and the first phase of AFI Home Kolbenova in Vysočanská street.

Vastint Poland is launching its first project in the Private Rented Sector (PRS). The Pastelowo estate will be built on Pastelowa Street in Poznań, in the immediate vicinity of the Business Garden complex. The development includes 255 apartments, which will be entirely for long-term rental. The project will be ready in early 2025, at which time the first contracts with future tenants are scheduled to be signed.

With the new academic year approaching, thousands of students are stepping up their search for accommodation. Meanwhile, Cushman & Wakefield has identified that, given the current bed provision in Poland, just 10% of all students can be accommodated in university-owned and private halls of residence. Those considering looking for privately rented accommodation will, however, face many challenges. According to Otodom, the availability of rental residential units in many key university towns is shrinking while rents continue to rise, with rental growth at the end of July 2023 averaging 1.5% month-on-month (m/m) and 8.5% year-on-year (y/y).

As it was unofficially confirmed last month, Sekyra Group has agreed with Dostupné bydlení České spořitelny and the insurance company Kooperativa on the sale of the Opatov II residential project in Prague 11. This is one of the largest build-to-rent (BTR) transactions in the Czech Republic, Sekyra Group announced. The price of the transaction was not disclosed. 

Cavatina will launch its first residential project in the United States – a 13-story building in downtown Seattle, Washington, made of prefabricated components manufactured in Poland. The project is being developed by Cavatina in collaboration with the internationally renowned architectural firm, Epstein, based in Chicago. Cushman & Wakefield advises the Cavatina Group on matters related to purchasing land.