Kovanda: Flats in Prague could double in price by 2030

Prague is missing 20,000 flats, writes the economist Lukáš Kovanda, and with 160,000 new residents expected to arrive in town by 2030, prices for residential real estate could double by that time. He warns that this increase is likely to affect not just luxury flats in the best locations, but even studio units in low-quality suburban panel buildings. And while developers are now beginning to look at building rental flats to accommodate customers who can't afford to buy, even rents are likely to rise drastically. Kovanda, who is the chief economist at the DRFG fund, cites a study by IPR, the city's planning institute, which warns that the city needs 8,000 flats to be built annually to catch up with demand, while admitting that last year developers managed just 5,300. The only answer, he concludes, is to make the construction permit process simpler and more efficient.