Prague

1. The Astronomical Clock: While many visitors admire Prague's famous Astronomical Clock, few know that it is the third oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still in operation. Installed in 1410, it features a complex mechanism that not only tells time but also shows the positions of celestial bodies. 2. The Lennon Wall: The Lennon Wall in Prague is a colorful mural dedicated to John Lennon and symbolizes peace and love. It started as a tribute after his assassination in 1980 but has since evolved into a space for artistic expression and political messages, constantly changing as new graffiti is added. 3. The Hidden Beer Culture: Prague has a rich beer culture that goes beyond its famous breweries. Many local establishments serve unique, lesser-known styles of beer, including "světlý ležák" (a pale lager) and "černé pivo" (dark beer). Additionally, the city has a tradition of beer spas, where visitors can soak in warm beer while enjoying a pint.

The Prague housing market remains highly unaffordable, with property prices and rents continuing to climb in 2025. Owner-occupied housing still dominates: around 76% of households in Prague own their homes, while 24% rent, though the share of renters is slowly rising as home ownership becomes less attainable. The median asking price to purchase a new apartment in Prague in 2025 is around 167,950 CZK per square meter, which is approximately 6,700 EUR per square meter. For rentals, Prague is the Czech Republic's most expensive city, with average rates reaching about 408 CZK per square meter per month, or roughly 16 EUR per square meter per month. Publicly owned (municipal) housing in Prague only represents a minor share—about 4.3% of the city’s total apartment stock. Its main purpose is to provide affordable housing for socially vulnerable groups, seniors, and essential workers like teachers and firefighters. Municipal housing is not entirely synonymous with social housing; while all social housing may be publicly owned, Prague’s public housing fund also serves broader groups beyond those traditionally considered socially disadvantaged. Social housing is a subset of the municipal stock focused specifically on the most vulnerable residents. Persistent supply shortages, slow permitting, and high demand continue to intensify the crisis, making Prague one of Europe’s least affordable cities for both renters and buyers.

Prague is facing a deepening housing crisis characterized by extreme unaffordability and a chronic shortage of homes. Over the past decade, property prices for new flats have soared by over 160%, and in 2024 alone, they rose by 7%. The city consistently falls short of the annual target of 10,000 newly approved homes, with only 8,191 approved last year, contributing to a long-term deficit of nearly 90,000 units. This persistent supply shortage, coupled with high demand and cumbersome permitting processes, has made Prague the least affordable city for housing in Europe. The situation is particularly severe for renters, as up to one-quarter of Prague households spend more than 40% of their income on housing. Although nominal wages have risen by 21% in recent years, real wages have actually fallen by 15% due to inflation, intensifying affordability pressures. Vulnerable groups are hit hardest: an estimated 160,000 people risk losing their homes, and nearly 40% of those at risk are children. Seniors and marginalized groups, including the Roma community, also face disproportionate hardship, often encountering discrimination in the search for housing. Rising population and a shift from short- to long-term rentals further constrain housing access. The crisis impacts young families, low-income earners, single parents, seniors, essential workers, and minorities, threatening social cohesion and deepening economic divides in Prague.

Prague's city administration has set ambitious targets to address its acute shortage of affordable and sustainable housing. Recent strategic plans aim to increase the annual construction of new flats to 9,000, nearly doubling current output. The city also targets growing its municipal housing stock to at least 35,000 units by 2030, with a minimum of 5,000 earmarked for social housing. To achieve these goals, Prague is advancing several concrete programs: - A cooperative housing initiative, where the city provides land under long-term leases to housing cooperatives, enabling people otherwise ineligible for social housing but unable to afford market prices to purchase homes. About one third of these flats are reserved for vulnerable groups. - Expansion of the municipal housing fund, focusing on new construction and the acquisition of existing properties, particularly on unused brownfield sites or city-owned land. - Partnership with the national government’s affordable housing program, which allocates subsidized low-interest loans covering up to 90% of development costs for projects offering below-market rents to eligible groups—such as young families, essential workers, and victims of domestic violence. - Large-scale projects like the Dostupné Bydlení ČS program, which will deliver over 700 affordable rental units for key workers, supported by European Investment Bank financing. - Sustainability measures are integrated under the city's 2023–2025 Action Plan, promoting circular economy principles, green building certifications, and incentives for eco-friendly renovations via the New Green Savings (NZÚ) scheme, with special support for disadvantaged households. These integrated efforts reflect Prague’s commitment to both affordability and sustainability in tackling its housing crisis.

Cooperative housing (družstevní bydlení) in Prague serves as a key alternative for residents unable to access either expensive market-rate ownership or limited municipal/social housing. In cooperative housing, residents are members of a cooperative that owns the building, and their right to occupy a flat is linked to their cooperative share, which they may later convert to individual ownership under certain conditions. Traditionally dominated by older housing stock, recent years have seen renewed interest and new initiatives, with Prague’s city government promoting cooperative housing as a response to unaffordability and limited mortgage accessibility. The city now actively supports cooperative housing by offering public land on long-term leases or surface rights to cooperatives, enabling flats to be built at up to a third below market prices. Prague retains a right of disposition to about one third of these units, reserving them for key workers or vulnerable groups. In practice, members pay only a fraction of the flat’s price upfront (about 20–30%), with further payments made as cost-based rent, minimizing financial barriers. Despite these efforts, cooperative housing remains a minor segment in Prague—historically, it accounts for thousands of units, but only about 3,000 new cooperative flats were built nationwide since 2007, with about 80% in Prague. The sector’s growth is constrained by slow new development and limited government support, yet it is increasingly viewed as a strategic tool to provide affordable housing for middle-income families and essential urban professionals. The city continues to expand pilot projects and actively courts experienced cooperative developers as part of its wider strategy to alleviate Prague’s acute housing shortage.