Buying an apartment in Prague now costs about the same as in Berlin, Vienna, or Madrid. However, with Czech salaries still less than half those in Western Europe, owning a home here is becoming an increasingly distant dream for many residents.
A new report from housing portal RE/MAX shows that the average asking price for a 70 square meter Prague apartment is now around CZK 9.8 million. That’s almost identical to Berlin (CZK 9.78 million) and even higher than Vienna (CZK 9.3 million).
Low salaries make life hard
However, there comes a crucial difference. The average Czech salary is around CZK 49,400 per month before tax. In Germany or Austria, workers earn about twice that.
So while apartment prices have “caught up” with the West, purchasing power most certainly hasn’t.
The cost of finding a home in Czechia is on an ever-increasing trend. “Asking prices for apartments for sale [in Czechia] increased by 17 percent, while rents increased 13 percent,” noted RE/MAX CEO Jan Hrubý when comparing to this time last year.
He shed further light on the situation: “The reason is growing demand, which is significantly supported by the influx of students and young professionals,” he noted.
Rents better, but picture still bleak
The “good” news is that, relative to Berlin or Madrid levels, Prague rents remain relatively “affordable,” at about CZK 28,980 per month. And in the German or Spanish capitals, you’re looking at about CZK 37,380 every month.
However, there’s a catch: because Czechs earn much less, even those “cheaper” rents can consume around 40 percent of a household’s monthly income. With rents also on a definitively rising trend (at about 6 percent), the capital’s residents will need to stump up more just to find a place to live in 2026.
Hrubý explains demand is highest “for smaller apartments in large cities, where competition is high and apartments are often rented almost immediately.”
For many residents, that means the dream of owning a flat is slipping further away, even as international buyers and investors keep demand high.