Young Czechs get country home habit

Photo: Martina Stejskalová

Prices of apartments in the Czech Republic have been growing sharply in recent years, and so have the prices of summer houses. In 2017, prices of Czech cottages and cabins went up by five to ten percent on the previous year, the Czech News Agency reported.

Photo: Martina Stejskalová
The most sought-after objects can be found in central Bohemia, especially along the Berounka and Sázava rivers, as well as in the mountain regions. According to real-estate agencies, people are mostly interested in places within an hour drive from their home.

“The average prices of summer houses have been going up for several years in row. Since 2014, it went up by one fifth and last year, it was a little over one million crowns. The market with summer houses copies the real estate market in general,” spokesman of Re/Max real estate agency Tomáš Hejda told the Czech News Agency.

While the average price of a small cottage ranges between 600,000 and one million crowns, properties in popular regions can reach up to several million crowns. Most expensive properties can be found in Central Bohemia, Šumava and Krkonoše Mountains, namely the ski resorts of Špindlerův Mlýn and Pec pod Sněžkou.

Roman Weiser of the real estate company Bidli says people are mostly interested in properties located within 50 kilometres of larger cities.

“People from big cities want to have a cottage within one hours driving time so they can commute to work over the summer,” he told the Czech News Agency.

According to real estate agency M&M, prices in popular locations shot up by up to 40 percent over the past three years.

“A strong demand from Prague and Brno-based clients is driving up the prices of weekend houses located in the vicinity if the big cities. But prices of objects in more distant locations have increased as well,” Renata Lichtnegerová of M&M told the agency.

Czech Real Estate agencies have also registered an increased demand in weekend housing among younger people between the ages of 30 and 40.

Due to growing prices of flats in big cities, a growing number of Czechs are turning their summer houses into permanent accommodation.