Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Real Estate

  • Construction output in Czechia decreased by 4.6% in April 2020

    Construction output in Czechia decreased by 4.6% in April 2020

    In April 2020, the construction output in Czechia decreased by 4.6%, year-on-year (y-o-y), in real terms, latest CZSO data show.

    The seasonally adjusted construction output decreased by 1.9%, month-on-month (m-o-m). The planning and building control authorities granted by 4.9% less building permits, y-o-y.

    The approximate value of permitted constructions decreased by 0.6%, y-o-y. The number of started dwellings increased by 1.5%, y-o-y. The number of completed dwellings decreased by 32.5%, y-o-y.

    In April 2020, the construction output decreased by 1.9%, m-o-m, in real terms. In the year-on-year comparison, it decreased by 4.6%.

    Compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, the production in building construction decreased by 10.5% contribution. The production of civil engineering construction increased by 13.5%, y-o-y.

    The average registered number of employees in construction decreased by 1.9%, y-o-y, in April 2020. Their average gross monthly nominal wage increased by 2.3%, y-o-y, in April 2020.

    In April 2020, the planning and building control authorities granted 7 012 building permits; it was 4.9% down, y-o-y. The approximate value of the permitted constructions was CZK 34.6 billion and compared to the corresponding period of 2019 it decreased by 0.6%. 

    Number of dwellings started increased by 1.5%

    The number of dwellings started increased in April 2020 by 1.5%, y-o-y, and reached the number of 3.386 dwellings. The number of dwellings started in family houses increased by 6.3%.

    The number of dwellings started in multi-dwelling buildings increased by 5.4%. A decrease in the number of dwellings started occurred in other categories, mainly in modifications to existing family houses and multi-dwelling buildings.

    The number of completed dwellings decreased by 32.5%, y-o-y, in April 2020 and amounted to 1 837 dwellings.

    The number of completed dwellings in family houses decreased by 30.2%; the number of completed dwellings in multi-dwelling buildings decreased by 43.4%.

  • Slovak company O.M.C. Invest to build 29 family houses in Smilovice

    Slovak company O.M.C. Invest to build 29 family houses in Smilovice

    The Slovak development company O.M.C. Invest started the construction of 29 family houses in the village of Smilovice in the Czech Republic.

    The construction of 17 houses is currently underway and will be completed within a year. In parallel, according to economic development and other important factors, the second phase should start later.

    Utilities and communications are already built.

    Mário Červenka, O.M.C. Invest owner says: “This district is located in the village of Smilovice, approximately 15 km from Mladá Boleslav and 20 minutes by car to Prague. Low-energy bungalows and two-storey houses can be purchased. The sensitively designed interior of family houses by designer Alexandra Rybárové provides living in the village with a touch of luxury. They will be heated with a heat pump and fireplace furnaces are designed as a complement.” 

  • First phase of the Beroun Gate project is completed

    First phase of the Beroun Gate project is completed

    The first phase of the transformation of the five-hectare area of the former military outlet near the center of Beroun into a residential zone is complete.

    Studio Ian Bryan Architects (IBA) says that the unpretentious black-and-white design of the buildings, inspired by the geological structure of the rocks around Beroun, is so simple deliberately.

    The prices of real estate around the capital are generally lower than in Prague and because the design was done without the combined details, the construction work was not unnecessarily expensive.

    Thus, IBA managed to build a high-quality architecture with a high standard at an affordable price.

    The new residential district will eventually offer a total of 24,100 m2 of diverse housing. In total, there will be ten residential buildings.

    The developer, Crestyl, started construction works, which began in the summer of 2017 and will end this summer.

  • Impact submitted a donation offer for a school and a kindergarten

    Impact submitted a donation offer for a school and a kindergarten

    Impact Developer & Contractor submitted to the Municipality of Bucharest the donation offer of 9,620 sqm for the construction of a school and a public kindergarten.

    It is about a land located in the north of Bucharest, in Greenfield Residence. Currently, in that area of District 1 live approximately 1,500 children of school and preschool age, the nearest educational unit being over 4 km away.

    The approach of Impact Developer & Contractor represents a step towards normalcy and an invitation for all major real estate developers in the country to evolve by investing in education. This year, the company has allocated over 1 million euros (excluding VAT) for the expansion of public utilities that will serve both the school and kindergarten, as well as other areas in the vicinity of the Greenfield neighborhood. Impact plans to build additional access roads nearby. Today, they are in the final phase of approving the PUZ documentation, and once completed, they will be transferred free of charge to the public domain.

    According to the approved urban plan, near the school and kindergarten will be built on 2 lands provided free of charge to the municipality, an STB terminal, various other public functions and an ISU subunit to serve the entire northern part of the capital. For the execution of these functions and infrastructure elements, Impact has allocated a budget of over 3 million euros (excluding VAT).

    At the end of April, by notarial deed, at the request of the City Hall of District 1 of Bucharest and the General City Hall of Bucharest, Impact Developer & Contractor submitted to the General City Hall of Bucharest and the General Council of Bucharest the donation offer for the urban land of 9,620 sqm, located in Bucharest, Teișani  Alley, District 1, adjacent to the Greenfield neighborhood. That land is registered in the Land Book no. 277156 of Bucharest, District 1. According to the zonal urban plan ZUP- Teișani Alley – Pădurea Neagră Street, no. 56-64, the land area that is the object of the donation has the function of UTR Education.

    The Local Council of District 1 voted in favor of the request to CGMB, on 28.05.2020, for the reception in administration for the construction of a school and a public kindergarten on this land, together with all the necessary annexes and utilities, according to the draft annexed to the donation act and all technical documentation for the building permit, also donated free of charge.

    In this sense, there is already an agreement of principle acceptance from the Administration of Pre-University Education Units and Public Sanitary Units Sector 1. The start of works also has a precise deadline, no later than 31.12.2020.

    Together with the project for the construction of the school and kindergarten, the value of the donation amounts to approximately 1.75 million euro, according to the evaluation report.

    The school and kindergarten will have direct access to a public road and will be modern educational spaces, where approximately 1,000 children from the northern part of Bucharest will be able to learn, as follows:  
    – the kindergarten will be able to receive 150 children in 15 classrooms, it will have a multifunctional room, a medical office + isolator, a food office, administrative spaces, technical spaces and a covered playground;

    – in school there will be able to learn two series of 390 children in 13 classrooms, 5 laboratories (chemistry, biology, physics, computer science, foreign languages), two workshops (music and arts), 1 after-school room, 1 library , a gym + locker rooms, a multifunctional foyer, a speech therapy office, a pedagogical counseling office, a medical office + isolator, a buffet space + food office, a school shop, a covered inner courtyard, an outdoor sports field free, a partially covered recreation yard, a maintenance workshop, bicycle parking platforms, various technical and administrative spaces.

  • Dwellings´ prices in Slovakia increased by 4% in Q1 2020

    Dwellings´ prices in Slovakia increased by 4% in Q1 2020

    In comparison with the 4th quarter of 2019, dwellings´ prices in the 1st quarter of 2020 increased by 4%, latest Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic data shows.

    Prices of new dwellings increased by 3,4% and prices of existing dwellings increased by 4,4 %.

    Dwellings´ prices increased by 13,1% in comparison with the 1st quarter of 2019.

    Prices of new dwellings increased by 9,7% and prices of existing dwellings increased by 15,5%.

  • Real estate prices continue to rise in 2019 in Austria

    Real estate prices continue to rise in 2019 in Austria

    Residential property prices as measured by the Austrian house price index increased by 5.8% in 2019, according to Statistics Austria.

    House prices increased by 4.6% and flats by 6.7% compared to 2018. Furthermore, the 2019 update of the average real estate prices shows large regional differences in Austrian regions.

    The Austrian average was €80 per square meter of building plots, €3.226 per square meter in apartments and €1.600 per square meter in houses.

    The average real estate prices calculated for Austria are available for all districts (for dwellings and apartments) and municipalities (building plots). It covers regional real estate prices for houses, apartments and land and is based on land register data from the years 2015 to 2019.

    Large price differences between rural and urban areas as well as the eastern and western part of Austria are evident.

  • 9.6% of the EU population spent 40% of household income on housing

    9.6% of the EU population spent 40% of household income on housing

    Many households have experienced steep falls in their disposable income during the current coronavirus pandemic, due to e.g. unemployment, furlough, reduced working time or less clients or turnover.

    Housing costs are generally fixed in the short term, and will inevitably leave less for other costs when the household’s income falls.  

    The housing cost overburden rate for the EU was 9.6% in 2018

    However, there were large differences between the different EU Member States. In 11 Member States, less than 6.0% of the population lived in households being overburdened by housing costs.

    It was particularly rare to experience such problems in Malta (only 1.7% of the population) and Cyprus (2.0%).  

    In contrast, the housing cost overburden rate stood at 10% or more in Romania, Germany, Denmark and Bulgaria.

    The overburdening was most widespread in Greece, where 39.5% of the population lived in households spending more than 40% of the disposable income on housing.

    These differences may, at least partially, reflect differences in national policies for social housing or public subsidies and benefits provided for housing.  

  • Covid-19 impacted rental market in Czechia. Rent fell by 20-30 percent

    Covid-19 impacted rental market in Czechia. Rent fell by 20-30 percent

    • Thousands of flats in the Czech Republic remained empty. Short-term housing fell to zero overnight. 
    • The Czech rental market was flooded with apartments for long and medium-term rent. 
    • Rent in Prague and Brno fell by 20-30 percent.

    Michal Rambousek, the founder of www.tvujspravce.cz, which takes care for the owners of their rental apartments, comments on the situation: “Expats left the country because of the coronavirus crisis, especially Ukrainians, Slovaks, Poles and other foreigners who came here for work. Foreign students and especially tourists left, bringing over 5.000 vacant flats for rent to the real estate market.”

    The coronavirus also waved rental prices. Some tenants have arranged a temporary discount on rent, others have left the apartments for various reasons. 

    How the rental market in Czechia was affected by coronavirus

    Due to the outflow of tourists and expats, a large number of apartments offering lower rents appeared on the market. The market price of rent in Prague and Brno also fell by 20-30 percent. 

    The average rental price for an apartment of 60 m2 in a better location in Prague is around CZK 20,000.

    The largest decline in rents was recorded in Prague 1 and 2. It was here that most flats were vacated. These were mainly apartments for short-term rent. 

    From the beginning of March to May 11, 5.458 vacant apartments for rent appeared on various internet servers in Prague alone (data do not include offers for rent from all servers, from Facebook groups, from booking or from Airbnb).

    Some owners of these apartments are now looking for long-term tenants, trying to cover the losses and ensure a regular income from long-term lease.

  • Czech ICP Group will build its third real estate project in the USA

    Czech ICP Group will build its third real estate project in the USA

    In Palm Beach Garden, Florida, ICP Group will build the Solera residential complex for more than 860 million crowns, which combines 136 above-standard housing units with commercial and social spaces, including a restaurant and a swimming pool.

    Palm Beach Garden is a city of 50.000 inhabitants near Miami, sometimes nicknamed the “Capital of Golf” thanks to its PGA headquarters and twelve courses, where the most prestigious tournaments have been played.

    Solera itself is located right in the heart of the city. It will offer a total of 136 two- to four-room apartments with an area of ​​65 to 112 m2. Under an agreement with the city, ten percent of the capacity will be leased at a discounted price to municipal and state administration employees with an income not exceeding 120% of the average.

    ICP has been investing in the USA since 2018

    ICP has been investing in the USA since 2018, when it bought the already functioning Belcan Property office building in West Palm Beach for more than half a billion crowns (with a loan from JP Morgan Chase). 

    Another project currently under construction is Seaward Landing in the southern Florida Keys. It is the construction of multi-generational houses with 45 units, which will be sold by the tenants as a return on investment. 

    Seaward Landing is a joint project of ICP CP and INDEX, in which they have jointly invested more than 270 million crowns.

  • Impact sold 94% of Greenfield and 62% of Luxuria Phase 1 project

    Impact sold 94% of Greenfield and 62% of Luxuria Phase 1 project

    Impact Developer & Contractor ended the first quarter of 2020 with 94% contracting for Greenfield project and 62% contracted from the first phase of Luxuria project, with sales revenues of 4.8 million euros, EBITDA of 980 thousand euros and an optimistic outlook for the next two quarters, when expected 25 million Euro of sales revenue.

    The estimates are based on the delivery of the apartments from phase 1 of Luxuria, located in the new business pole of Bucharest, which includes a necessary mix of residential and office.

    Impact activity in the first 3 months of 2020 was dominated by the development of two residential projects in Bucharest: Greenfield Residence Băneasa and Luxuria Domenii Residence.

    As of March 31, 2020, 2,394 apartments were contracted (94%), namely 2,338 sale and purchase contracts and 56 promises and reservations, out of the 2,548 apartments already built, related to the Greenfield project.

    Luxuria Domenii Residence first phase is contracted in proportion of 62%

    Luxuria Domenii Residence ensemble completed the first phase and started the delivery of the apartments.

    As of March 31, 2020, the first phase is contracted in proportion of 62%, which constitutes sale-purchase promises, starting with the signing of sale-purchase contracts from May 15, 2020.

    At this moment, 31% of the second phase is reserved (83 apartments out of the 268 available), and the third phase (130 apartments) was recently launched for sale.

    In addition to the 50 sale-purchase contracts, the value of which is reflected in revenue recorded in the first quarter of 2020, on 31 March 2020 pre-sale and purchase contracts and reservations were signed for 286 apartments in Greenfield and Luxuria, with a value of of 32.8 thousand Euro.

  • Serbia: 12.8% increase in issued building permits in Q1 2020

    Serbia: 12.8% increase in issued building permits in Q1 2020

    In March 2020, 1.694 building permits were issued, presenting the increase of 12.8% related to March 2019, latest Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia data show.

    By types of constructions, in March 2020, 76.4% of building permits related to buildings and 23.6% to civil engineering.

    When referring only to buildings, 63.8% related to residential buildings and 36.2% to non–residential ones, while regarding civil engineering, the largest number related to pipelines, communication and electric power lines (64.8%).  

    According to the permits issued in March 2020 in the Republic of Serbia, building of 2.953 dwellings with average area of 69.4 m2 was recorded. Out of the total number of dwellings in new residential buildings, 6.6% of dwellings will be built in single-dwelling buildings, with average area of 146.5 m², and 92.2% of dwellings will be in buildings with three and more dwellings, with significantly smaller average area of 62.5 m².

    Observed by areas, the greatest construction activity is expected in Beogradska oblast (31.7%) of totally anticipated value of works, followed by Južnobacka oblast (16.5%), Sremska oblast (12.1%), Sumadijska oblast (8.6%), Nisavska oblast (6.9%) and Zlatiborska oblast (6.2%), while the shares of other areas are up to 3.1%.

  • In 2018, 46% of the EU population lived in flats

    In 2018, 46% of the EU population lived in flats

    In 2018, 46% of the EU population lived in flats, while a small majority of people lived in houses, show latest data published by Eurostat.

    Just over one third (35%) of the population lived in detached houses and almost one fifth (19%) lived in semi-detached or terraced houses.

    Flats were the preferred residence type in nine Member States, notably in Latvia (66%), Spain (65%), Estonia (62%) and Greece (61%).

    The lowest shares were recorded in Ireland (8%) and the Netherlands (20%).

    By contrast, more than two thirds of the population lived in detached houses in Croatia (70%), followed by Slovenia (66%), Hungary and Romania (both 65%), Denmark (53%), Poland and Slovakia (both 50%).

    The Netherlands (58%) and Ireland (52%) were the only EU Member States where more than half of the population lived in a semi-detached house in 2018.

    7 out of 10 persons lived in their own residence

    In 2018, seven out of every ten (70%) persons in the EU lived in a house or flat they owned.

    There were more owners than tenants in every EU Member State in 2018, with the highest shares of owners in Romania (96%), Slovakia (91%), Croatia and Lithuania (both 90%) and the lowest shares in Germany (51%) and Austria (55%).