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The Prague office market has frozen. The crisis will hit older buildings harder
Offices

The Prague office market has frozen. The crisis will hit older buildings harder

High construction and relocation costs are behind the marginal movements on the Prague office market in recent months. Even if companies want to change their location, it is currently very difficult to secure a lease of around 5,000 sqm, especially in attractive locations such as Karlín, Anděl, Pankrác or Smíchov. Although buildings are gradually being completed (mostly pre-leased), which started to be realised at a time of cheaper bank financing, there is a noticeable lack of premium office space on the market. In fact, no new office buildings have started construction since spring 2022. These are the main outputs of the analysis of the office market development prepared by the Czech real estate consultancy 108 REAL ESTATE.

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High office refit costs prove a drag on new lettings
Offices

High office refit costs prove a drag on new lettings

With the cost of fitting out new offices doubling or even tripling, tenants are reluctant to move. Back in 2019, investing in office refits cost in the region of EUR 400–600 per square metre, but since then the price has spiralled to some EUR 1,000, with costs upwards of EUR 1,200 no exception either. These costs, combined with the rising expense of renting and running offices, are among the principal reasons behind the cooling office market in the first half of this year. Many businesses are opting to stay put for the time being. This partly explains why there has been an upswing in the share of older leases being renegotiated, which rose to 45% in the first quarter.

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