Czechs prefer to renovate a property rather than buy a new one

Reconstruction of a panel apartment in Šternberk (Atelier Masparti, 2013)

Prague - In the last year, 23 percent of Czechs invested in the reconstruction of their housing. High apartment prices, which have not fallen significantly despite the crisis, have changed people's behavior - they are not buying new apartments but are renovating their current ones. In the past year, 35 percent of Czechs purchased new household equipment. This follows from a survey by Home Credit.
     According to the survey, people tend to invest in housing gradually, in small stages; only rarely do they decide to renovate an entire house or apartment at once. Typically, one of the first stages is the replacement of windows or the repair of the apartment core, or possibly a new kitchen.
     "Such renovations range in price from tens of thousands of crowns, often exceeding the limit of one hundred thousand," said Home Credit analyst Michal Kozub.
     In the past year, 35 percent of people bought new household equipment, mainly furniture, with just under one-fifth of them financing it through a loan. The most active were mainly young people under thirty. In the last year, 43 percent of them furnished their homes with new furniture.
     In the last year, 61 percent of people invested at least once in the purchase of electronics, ranging from white appliances to electronics and computing technology. More than one-fifth of them used some form of loan, including credit cards, for their purchase.