The 20th annual international conference CEDEM 2019 took place on September 25th at the Slovanský dům in Prague. The Svoboda & Williams real estate agency was one of the more than two dozen participants that took part in its 6 panel discussions, focusing on the hottest topics and trends in the current Central and Eastern European real estate market across all segments.
The experts addressed the current state of the global economy, which many find difficult to grasp due to recent changes. Despite a number of negative factors, such as Brexit, a stagnant industrial sector, and the overall slowdown and uncertainty in global markets, economists in the Czech Republic are not expecting a major recession or real estate prices to fall significantly. In fact, they are projecting prices to rise further. One of the topics discussed by the panelists was the great potential of rental housing in Prague. With rising property prices, fewer and fewer people can afford to live “in their own place.” However, Prokop Svoboda, owner of Svoboda & Williams, pointed out that this is a natural development that does not necessarily have to be negative. Svoboda believes the greater threats to be the mortgages that a large part of the population will be saddled with as well as rent regulation. The current situation, when owning residential property in Prague is becoming a luxury, reflects a well-balanced Czech real estate market. Any direct interference could tip it in the wrong direction.
