The Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic has decided on a one-year postponement of the effectiveness of part of the Construction Act. Instead of the planned central construction office, which the previous government of Andrej Babiš wanted, they are preparing the digitalisation of the process, the Czech Press Agency reports.

Prague 3 has spoken out against a development project planned by the developer UDI Group in Žižkov. The town hall is bothered by the size of the project. The developer accuses the authority of arbitrariness and threatens to sue. Martin Roman, an ex-CEZ Group boss, has a stake in the project, writes seznamzpravy.cz.

Investment group DRFG has acquired land near the main railway station in Olomouc (the eastern province of Moravia in the Czech Republic) in March this year and plans to build flats and commercial premises there. It plans to build a multifunctional residential complex with retail space and offices on this brownfield site with a total market value of CZK 2.6 billion and an area of 43,000 sqm by 2025. The architectural design of the complex is currently being finalised. DRFG Group informed about its new acquisition and construction plans in a press release today.

Passerinvest Group is starting the construction of a new seven-storey office building in Prague 4. The Roztyly Plaza building close to the bus terminal and metro station is to be completed in 2024, the developer announced.

JLL is expanding its leadership in the Czech Republic. As of 9 May 2022, it has a new Director of Industrial and Logistics Agency in the Czech Republic.

The average price of an older apartment in the Czech Republic exceeded CZK 90,000 per sqm for the first time in Q1 2022, according to a study by the real estate group European Housing Services (EHS). In Prague, an older apartment costs more than 120,000 per sqm and in Brno, it is over 90,000. Rents have returned to prices before the coronavirus crisis, the Czech News Agency quotes the EHS report.

Inflation is putting pressure on developers to increase rents. Luckily, in some markets, such as the Czech logistics market, buoyant demand is helping drive rental growth. Jakub Kodr, Head of Business Development at CTP Czech Republic talked to Property Forum about the company’s expansion plans, dealing with inflation and changing demand dynamics.

European developer and owner of semi-industrial and logistics properties VGP has acquired a new tenant for its logistics park VGP Park Kladno in the Kladno East industrial zone. It is the Danish company Kvadrat, which focuses on interior design and is entering the domestic market, VGP announced.

The beginning of Q1 2022 has brought record numbers. €898 million was invested into Czech real estate assets in Q1 2022, demonstrating a 210% year-on-year increase. Without the c. €1.3 billion Residomo transaction which was closed in Q1 2020, this quarter's investment volume would be the highest since Q1 2019, Savills' latest research shows.

Work has been underway for more than ten years on a major planning document for Prague - the new zoning plan. Its elaboration has cost the capital city CZK 135 million so far, while the assessment and elaboration of changes cost CZK 181 million. According to the city's statistics, 367 amendments are submitted annually, a number that the new metropolitan plan should significantly reduce. The new plan is also expected to unlock up to 15 areas where there is currently a building closure. If the metropolitan plan is approved as proposed, it could begin to take effect as early as 2023 and could unlock the construction of up to 150,000 new flats. The public now has 66 days to comment on the plan, local daily E15.cz reports.