The Prague commercial property markets have continued their positive growth, which began during the second half of last year. Demand in every sector remains high and rents are remaining reasonably steady.
Prague office stock has risen by 60,000 sq m so far in 2003, bringing the total figure to 1.38 million sq m. Almost 100,000 sq m is planned for completion by the end of this year. Take-up in the first half of 2003 continues to be robust and has already reached approximately 95,000 sq m. Yet, despite demand outweighing supply, the overall vacancy has risen slightly to 13.5%, caused mostly by three new buildings being completed last quarter with a large amount of space still vacant.
The retail market has been buoyed by high domestic consumption. Retail sales have increased during the last year and the development of new shopping centres and hypermarkets has slightly slowed.
The Prague industrial market boasts approximately 2% vacancy, and demand has not relented. 90,000 sq m of new supply could bring Pragueââ¬â¢s total modern stock to almost 750,000 sq m by the end of the year.