The survey was conducted in the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Romania. The comparing unit was a flat with 60 square metres.
A comparison of flat prices in the capitals reveals the first interesting fact. The most expensive capital is Vienna where flat prices range from 6.8 million to 13.1 million CZK. The mean price is 10 million CZK. The second most expensive capital is Prague where the mean flat price is 5.62 million CZK. The cheapest flats are in Bucharest (approx 1.77 million CZK).
There is a significant difference in flat prices in smaller cities (cities with between 100,000 and 500,000 inhabitants). The most expensive flats are in once again in Austria but the Czech Republic belongs to the group of “cheaper” countries. Flats in these cities are quite expensive in particular in Croatia. The decline in flat prices among other countries is moderate. Tomáš Podškubka, a senior manager at TPA Horwath, notes: “The most significant difference between flat prices in the capitals and flat prices in smaller cities is in Austria and the Czech Republic. The difference is 4 million CZK in the Czech Republic and 6 million CZK in Austria. The closest range between flat prices in the capitals and in smaller cities is in Croatia because most of the cities are situated on the Croatian coastline. The most narrow price range is in Romania.”
Current mortgage interest rates in these countries are also interesting. “The the highest mortgage interest rates are in Romania and there are the most favourable mortgage rates in Austria. The difference is 3 percentage points between these countries which means a difference of 60,000 CZK per year for a mortgage of 2 million.