ČSÚ: In the first half of the year, construction began on 14 percent more apartments than last year

Prague - In the first half of this year, construction began on 21,931 apartments in the Czech Republic, which was 14 percent more than in the same period last year. The number of completed apartments increased by nine percent to 16,427 apartments. There were still 176,476 apartments under construction, which is two percent more year-on-year. This is from the results of apartment construction for the second quarter, which was announced today by the Czech Statistical Office, and the figures for the first three months.
    "It is therefore evident that the hunger for housing, supported by rising living standards and available loans, increasingly motivates developers to open new and new projects," stated Petr Dufek from ČSOB. According to him, only the structure of construction and its regional distribution changed, as developers headed to regions outside of Prague.
    However, experts from the real estate market indicate that demand for new apartments significantly dropped in the first half of the year, especially in the area of affordable housing. According to some experts, by about a fifth, while others report a freeze in interest in this area to nearly zero.
    In the second quarter itself, construction started on 12,361 apartments in the Czech Republic, which is 22.7 percent more year-on-year. The number of completed apartments grew by 8.9 percent to 7,357 apartments.
    In apartment buildings, new apartment construction rose by 41.7 percent from April to the end of June, while in family houses, construction began on 16 percent more apartments than in the same period last year. Statisticians recorded a decrease in the number of initiated apartments only in the case of extensions, additions, and conversions to apartment buildings, down by 15.6 percent.
    The increase in the number of completed apartments in family houses represents 36.5 percent, while apartment buildings showed a year-on-year decrease of 19 percent. The number of completed apartments in assisted living and retirement homes tripled compared to the same period last year.
    The highest share of unfinished construction was in family houses (50.2 percent) and in apartment buildings (19.3 percent). "Unfinished construction has been increasing over the long term due to the lead of the number of initiated apartments over the number of completed apartments, and also includes apartments whose construction has been temporarily halted," noted the Czech Statistical Office.
    In the second quarter, the modernization of 5,065 apartments was also completed, which is 16.4 percent more than in the same period last year.