Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Generali Investments study shows shrinking housing affordability and growing pessimism among households
More than 60 percent of Czechs no longer plan to buy their own homes, as high energy prices, inflation, and steep interest rates continue to erode affordability, according to a new survey by Ipsos for Generali Investments. Another quarter of respondents say they are postponing any purchase plans indefinitely — a sharp reversal from the optimism seen just five years ago.
The study, based on interviews with 1,000 respondents conducted in early September, paints a bleak picture of the Czech housing market. In Prague, tenants are now renting apartments roughly 20 square metres smaller than they could afford in 2020 for the same price. A monthly rent of CZK 20,000 once secured a 65 m² flat (3+kk), but today only covers around 45 m² (2+kk), reflecting how sharply housing affordability has declined.
At the same time, the share of tenants willing or able to pay higher rents has increased dramatically. One in five Czechs now accepts monthly rents between CZK 20,000 and 25,000, compared with just five percent in 2020. “This fourfold rise suggests that tenants are reluctantly adapting to current market realities,” said Marek Bečička of Generali Investments CEE, noting that one in five people still cannot afford any rent increase at all.
Bečička added that public sentiment toward housing remains deeply negative. “The combination of high energy costs, inflation, and interest rates continues to undermine confidence. Over two-thirds of Czechs expect real estate prices to keep rising at their current pace. The level of pessimism is even higher than during the pandemic, when there was uncertainty about how housing prices might react,” he said.
According to data from the Czech Statistical Office and Deloitte, the deterioration in affordability has accelerated since 2020. Rising energy costs remain the main factor — cited by almost a third of respondents — followed by frustration over inflation, which now worries more than a quarter of Czechs, up from less than one-fifth last year. The share of people citing interest rates as their biggest financial obstacle has also risen sharply.
Generali Investments’ data show that more than one-third of households now pay at least 10 percent more for housing than a year ago, while another 30 percent have faced increases of between 10 and 25 percent. Bečička said this illustrates a clear trend: “Housing affordability in the Czech Republic continues to worsen, and many households are being pushed toward smaller or less comfortable living arrangements.”
Source: CTK
