Prague

1. Unique Astronomical Clock: Prague is home to the world’s oldest working astronomical clock, known as the Prague Orloj. Installed in 1410, it not only tells the time but also shows the positions of celestial bodies and has a unique hourly show featuring moving figures. 2. The Charles Bridge's Mystical Legends: The iconic Charles Bridge, built in the 14th century, is steeped in legends, including tales of a hidden statue that grants wishes. It is said that if you touch the statue of St. John of Nepomuk, you will return to Prague, making it a popular spot for both tourists and locals. 3. The Largest Castle Complex: Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world, spanning over 70,000 square meters. It has been the seat of power for kings, emperors, and presidents for over a thousand years, showcasing a mix of architectural styles from Romanesque to Gothic.

Prague’s housing market in 2025 is marked by high prices, strong demand, and limited supply. Home ownership prevails, with about 76% of people across the Czech Republic owning their home and 24% renting. However, the share of renters in Prague is steadily increasing as rising purchase prices have outpaced rent growth, making renting relatively more attractive, especially among young people and newcomers. As of June 2025, the median price to buy an apartment in Prague is approximately 131,400 CZK per square meter, or about 5,265 EUR per sqm. New apartments command even more, averaging around 167,950 CZK per sqm, or roughly 6,740 EUR per sqm. The median rent sits at about 408–438 CZK per sqm monthly, translating to 16–17.5 EUR per sqm. Publicly owned housing plays only a minor role in Prague’s overall housing market due to decades of privatization. Efforts are underway to boost the affordable housing supply, especially for key public service workers, with new projects underway but these constitute a small fraction of the total housing stock. In Prague, public housing and social housing are not identical: the city owns and allocates some properties based on need, but the formal system for social housing is fragmented and lacks a clear, national definition, resulting in varying criteria and limited capacity. Thus, vulnerable residents often remain underserved despite existing municipal programs.

Prague is experiencing one of the most acute housing crises in Europe, characterized by a severe imbalance between soaring demand and lagging supply. The city has become the least affordable in Central Europe for buying a home: the average price for a new apartment reached 167,950 CZK per square meter, or about 6,740 EUR per sqm in 2025. Older apartments are also increasingly unaffordable, and prices across all districts have risen by 16% year-on-year, with some neighborhoods seeing jumps of 25%. Rents have followed suit, climbing by 9% in the first quarter of 2025 and by 30% since 2020. This affordability gap is exacerbated by a stagnant pace of new construction—bureaucratic delays mean only about 8,000 flats are approved annually, far below the estimated need of over 10,000. As a result, vacancy rates are near zero, especially for affordable rentals. Households now require 15.5 times their gross annual salary to buy a standard new apartment, a dramatic increase from 10.5 years in 2015. The crisis impacts a broad swath of Prague’s population: young households, middle-income earners, and particularly vulnerable groups such as lower-income residents and single parents. Up to one-quarter of households spend more than 40% of their income on housing, putting around 160,000 residents at risk of housing instability or inability to pay. The combination of rising prices, slow wage growth, and limited new construction leaves many priced out of both renting and buying.

The Prague city administration is pursuing a comprehensive approach to affordable and sustainable housing through several key strategies and programs. In 2021, Prague announced a new housing strategy with ambitious targets: the construction of 9,000 new apartments each year and increasing municipal ownership to 35,000 apartments by 2030, including at least 5,000 dedicated social housing units. The strategy prioritizes affordable housing construction, urban regeneration of brownfields, stricter controls on short-term rentals (reducing Airbnb-type flats from 11,000 to 5,000), and bolstering sustainability by ensuring high energy efficiency in new projects. To drive these goals, the city established its own municipal developer, Pražská developerská společnost (PDS), which manages over 800,000 sqm of land and more than 50 projects, potentially bringing 6,000–8,000 new apartments over the next decade. This includes both redevelopment of old sites and new construction, focusing on rental and cooperative housing, often offered to key workers like teachers and healthcare staff at below-market, regulated rents. Additionally, Prague partners in public-private projects such as the recent €187.5 million initiative (with €60 million from the European Investment Bank) to build over 700 energy-efficient apartments for public service employees, aiming for completion in 2025–2026. These efforts seek to “cool the market” in the long term, expand regulated affordable housing options, and support social inclusion, though immediate impact on the housing stock remains gradual due to ongoing supply constraints.

Cooperative housing in Prague currently plays a modest but expanding role within the city's broader housing landscape. There is significant and growing interest in this model, especially among young people and families who find traditional ownership unaffordable. In recent years, around 4,500 new cooperative units in about 60 projects have been built in the Czech Republic since 2010, with approximately 3,500 of those in Prague. However, cooperative housing remains a small fraction of Prague's housing stock—across the country, only about 1,300 of 15,000 available apartments on the market are cooperative units. Cooperatives are recognized for providing professional building management, stability, and up to 50% lower monthly housing costs compared to market rents. Demand is strongest in city districts like Prague 4, 5, 8, and 9. Despite the potential, the sector develops slowly due to challenges in financing and historically limited engagement from the municipality. Unlike other Czech cities, Prague’s primary tool for boosting affordable and cooperative housing remains its municipal developer, with only pilot collaborations making city land available to cooperatives under favorable conditions. Policy discussions increasingly consider public support via EIB loans and possible tax advantages for cooperative members. While recent city strategies and pilot projects underscore political support for cooperatives as part of the affordable housing solution, more robust regulatory and financial support is seen as essential for scaling this sector to meet demand.