The number of completed wooden buildings is expected to increase this year

Brno - The number of completed wooden houses in the Czech Republic has stagnated at 1,250 per year over the last two years. However, this year is expected to see growth of five to ten percent. Vratislav Blaha, chairman of the Association of Suppliers of Prefabricated Houses (ADMD), said this today to ČTK.
    In the Czech Republic, the total numbers of initiated family house constructions are declining, which logically reflects the number of wooden houses. While the total number of completed family houses fell last year to 13,500 from 15,013 in 2013, the number of wooden houses has remained practically stagnant and their market share has exceeded nine percent.
    "The share of wooden houses in the market is growing and they are gaining increasing popularity. This is not the final state yet; in the next five years, we could achieve a market share of around 15 percent," Blaha believes. According to him, wooden houses make up about a third of all completed houses in Austria, and 15 percent in Germany.
    According to Blaha, wooden houses are quality homes. Compared to brick constructions, they reportedly have excellent thermal insulation properties. An advantage is the speed of construction, which can take just a few days, while the costs are comparable to brick constructions.
    A family house with a living area of 120 m² in rough construction costs 2.5 million crowns, and if it is a turnkey wooden house, it costs three million. "Current investments are encouraged by favorable conditions regarding prices and financing; some banks offer advantageous loans and interest rates," Blaha stated. He noted that wooden houses have become cheaper in recent years also because the capacities of manufacturing plants have been filled. Currently, there are around 200 companies in the market, including smaller carpentry businesses.

Numbers of completed houses in wooden constructions:

Year	wooden houses	share of wooden houses in family house market in %
2010	1332	6.87
2011	1465	8.61
2012	1699	9.94
2013	1285	8.56
2014	1246	9.23