Housing Affordability in the Czech Republic 2015–2025: Mortgages, Rents, and Regional Differences

Housing affordability in the Czech Republic has changed more dramatically over the past decade than ever before. In 2015, a typical mortgage payment accounted for roughly 20% of the average salary. Today, it represents 41%, more than double.

The heaviest burden came in 2022, when a standard mortgage instalment reached 46% of the average gross wage. Since then, the situation has been improving thanks to rising salaries and gradually declining interest rates.

🏙️ Housing Affordability 2025: Where Are Mortgages the Most Expensive?

Financing your own home is traditionally the most demanding in regions with the highest demand:

• Prague – 50.7% of income

• South Moravian Region

• Central Bohemian Region

  
  

In contrast, the most affordable mortgages can be found in regions with lower property prices:

• Ústí nad Labem Region – 17.8%

• Karlovy Vary Region – 21.7%

• Moravian-Silesian Region – 25.4%

  
  

Importantly, since 2022 the share of income needed to cover a mortgage payment has been decreasing across all regions — despite continued growth in property prices.

💰 How Many Annual Salaries Do You Need to Buy a Flat?

Ten years ago, half of Czech households needed 6.2 annual salaries to purchase a 60 m² flat.Today, it takes 9.7 salaries, highlighting how significantly housing affordability in 2025 has deteriorated compared to the previous decade.

The regional differences are striking:

• Prague – 12.3 annual salaries

• Ústí nad Labem Region – 4.7 annual salaries

  
  

Over the last decade, the steepest increase occurred in the Ústí nad Labem Region (+112.5%), while Prague saw a relatively modest rise (+30%).

🏘️ Rent vs. Purchase: How Is the Balance Changing?

Over the past decade, both rents and wages in the Czech Republic have nearly doubled.Yet the share of income required to cover an average rent has risen only slightly — by 2.7%, or less than one percent per year.

Regions with the largest increase in the rent-to-income ratio:

• Pardubice Region: +9.1%

• Liberec Region: +7.5%

  
  

Regions with a decrease:

• Karlovy Vary Region: –9.5%

• Zlín Region: –5.3%

• Moravian-Silesian Region: –1.0%

  
  

This shows that wage growth has kept pace with rising rents, leading to a gradual narrowing of regional differences.

🏠 Mortgage or Rent?

The contrast between regions is significant.

Prague

• Mortgage: 50.7% of income

• Rent: 35.6% of income→ Renting currently offers noticeably better affordability than buying.

  
  

Ústí nad Labem, Karlovy Vary, Moravian-Silesian Region

• In these areas, mortgage payments can be lower than rent→ Making ownership often the more financially advantageous option.

  
  

📊 Model Example

All figures are based on a 60 m² model flat, representing the typical Czech housing standard.For larger units — such as a three-room apartment — both mortgage payments and rents would account for an even higher share of household income, especially in Prague, Brno, and suburban areas of Central Bohemia.

📝 Conclusion

Housing affordability in the Czech Republic has worsened dramatically over the past decade, largely due to rising property prices and the sharp increase in interest rates between 2021 and 2023.The year 2022 marked the peak of this pressure, and conditions have slowly been improving ever since.

However, regional differences remain crucial:

• Prague is still the least affordable housing market, where renting often makes more financial sense than buying.

• Northern regions offer significantly better affordability, with mortgage payments often below average rents.

For buyers, it is essential to monitor not only property prices but also wage development and interest rate trends.

Source: https://blog.valuo.cz

Jan Halík

Real Estate Agent

📞 +420 603 377 791

✉️ jan.halik@re-max.cz

RE/MAX Atrium

Podolská 811/138

140 00 Praha 4 – Podolí