A Komerční banka and Ipsos survey finds deep pessimism over affordability in Czechia, yet millions of adults still hope to buy and most expect prices and rents to rise.
Only 7 percent of people in Czechia who do not already live in their own property consider buying a home affordable, according to a survey by Komerční banka and Ipsos, as reported by Expats.cz. Across the broader population, 83 percent described homeownership as unaffordable. Even so, around 1.4 million adults hope to buy a house or apartment within five years, rising to more than 2.2 million over the next decade. The research covered 1,500 respondents plus an additional sample of 346 members of Generation Z (broadly, people born between 1997 and 2012). Expectations point to further increases. According to the survey, 77 percent of respondents expect newly built homes in large cities to become more expensive over the next five years, and the same share anticipates higher urban rents and rising prices for land intended for family homes. Two-thirds also expect prices of older properties requiring renovation to go up. The survey's Housing Future Index scored Czechia at 45 points out of 100 (Generation Z: 44), with housing affordability the weakest component at 26 points. Among non-owners, one-quarter believe buying could become affordable for them within 10 years; among Generation Z the figure is 39 percent. Mortgages remain the main route to ownership: half of prospective buyers expect to finance a purchase with a mortgage and one-third plan to rely on their own savings. Almost one-quarter expect to combine savings with another type of loan, and 18 percent anticipate help from parents. Among Generation Z respondents planning a purchase, 69 percent expect to take a mortgage, 28 percent would combine savings with another loan and 26 percent expect parental help. Nearly three million people also say they plan to renovate a property within the next five years. Note that these are survey-based expectations and sentiment, not official price statistics.