Czech bank Česká spořitelna is initiating the construction of more affordable rental housing in Czech towns with a population of over 10,000. The bank plans to launch the first trio of projects with 250 flats in cooperation with three town halls this year or in early 2023. Rental housing in such projects should be at least one-fifth cheaper, E15 reported on the bank's new plans today.  

In line with the growing popularity of flexible and hybrid work models, many companies are relocating, changing size and trying to re-fitting their offices. This could be one of the reasons why Prague placed second in the CEE region in terms of the price of fitting out an office. Nevertheless, the key reasons are the tightening supply chain and challenges around labour, which are set to continue well in 2022 and beyond. The average costs per sqm in Prague are currently €1,037, which is half of what it is in top German cities or in the UK where the median cost exceeded €2,000, Cushman & Wakefield presents in their report.

UnicreditBank Czech Republic & Slovakia and Demaco have signed a long-term loan agreement together for funding the project in Northern Moravia. Demaco informed about the contract on its LinkedIn page.

There are strange dances around the reconstruction of the baroque Savarin Palace in the centre of Prague. The CZK 10 billion project has been approved by the city's conservationists and city councillors and the first phase of the project is already underway, according to the builders. However, the Ministry of Culture has now rejected the project, saying it would threaten the city's conservation area, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reports. Therefore, Culture Minister Martin Baxa has a request on his desk from the construction company Crestyl to review the decision of his officials, as company spokesman Ondřej Micka confirmed to Property Forum today.

Less than a year before completion, developer J&T Real Estate CZ is selling its Red Court office centre in Prague's Karlín district. BlackBird Real Estate will become the new owner immediately after approval, the online daily Seznamzpravy.cz reported about the transaction.

The second full-service apartment building with fully furnished apartments is being opened in Prague for short- and long-term living by Zeitraum, a leading operator of serviced apartments in Central-Eastern Europe.

A part of the Prague-based residential project Hagibor, which is being built by Crestyl Group, is now owned by Invesco Real Estate. The acquisition concerns the third phase of the residential part of the project, namely the Delta building, which is already under construction and is to be used for rental housing in the future. The price of the transaction, which was reported by the daily E15, was not published.

Fidurock, the Czech/Dutch company that owns Retail Park Trnava, has started to build phase II of the project, which is located in Western Slovakia, 44 km northeast of Bratislava. The extension of this retail park is planned to be completed by the end of this year.

YIT has started construction of the Happi Milánská project in Prague's Horní Měcholupy and has put 72 new Finnish-style apartments of up to 99 sqm on sale. The residential building with access to both the countryside and the city centre will also include three commercial spaces. The developer plans completion in spring 2024.

The footfall in Czech regional shopping centres remained almost unchanged despite the previous years of the pandemic and all the lockdowns. The turnover and the average basket increased, and the vacancy is stable. However, due to the 18-week lockdown, the year 2021 fell behind 2019 by about 15%. The biggest concern now comes from the inflation and spending cuts reported by CBRE in its regular Shopping Centre Index analysis together with the results of two surveys on customer behaviour and expected plans of retailers.