Prague has a record 23,300 apartments under construction, but buyers are choosing smaller homes

According to Expats.cz, citing research by property consultancy iO Partners, Prague had a record 23,300 apartments under construction at the end of June, the highest figure since monitoring began in 2010 and 43 percent more than a year earlier. Construction also started on another 6,520 apartments in the first half of 2026, the highest half-year total on record. Prague 9 is the busiest district, with 23 percent of apartments currently under construction. These numbers describe the development pipeline rather than finished homes, so the effect on available housing will depend on when projects are completed and how the apartments reach the market. At the same time, buyers are opting for less space. The average apartment sold in Prague shrank from 61.9 square meters in the first half of 2023 to 56.3 square meters this year, a drop of roughly 9 percent. iO Partners recorded 3,990 sales in the first half of the year, and about 41 percent were two-room apartments with a kitchenette ("2+kk"), which usually means a living room with a kitchen area plus a separate bedroom. The firm's research director, Blanka Vačkova, linked the preference for compact homes partly to their lower total price and their suitability for investment rentals. Prices per square meter are rising fastest in the smallest layouts. "1+kk" studios rose almost 15 percent year on year to more than CZK 198,000 per square meter. At that rate a 30-square-meter studio would cost about CZK 5.94 million, though this is an illustrative calculation, not a quoted price. For comparison, Deloitte's Develop Index put the average asking price in Prague development projects at CZK 182,700 per square meter in the second quarter; its methodology differs, so the figures are not directly interchangeable. Buying fewer square meters can lower the total bill even as each square meter costs more, and a smaller apartment can carry a higher price per square meter than a larger one.