Co-owner Sika is breaking the development trend: he will build rental apartments in Prague
The largest new rental housing project to date is being developed at the Luka metro station in Prague in Stodůlky. Behind the 15-storey tower with 215 apartments stands Vítězslav Vala, co-owner of the family company Siko, a major player in the bathroom market. With its partners, it invests over half a billion crowns in construction. At the same time, they have avoided the construction of apartment flats.
“The target clientele is both young people who do not want to tie one with a 30-year mortgage, but also corporate clients,” project director Tomáš Kašpar told E15. In 2008, it launched the only similar complex in Albertov, which has so far been established in the metropolis.
It is supposed to be ready at the Luka station in 2017, and rentals will start offering next year. “The final price list will be next year, but the price is expected to range from ten euros per square meter per month,” added the project manager. The face of the project comes from the architectural office CAMA Architekti.
In addition to fully furnished apartments, the low-energy complex called Luka Living will also offer apartments for rent of 8,000 square meters of commercial space. Vala and its partners have a long-term annual return of around six percent from the complex. Money for construction is obtained by a developer securing a bank loan.
No competition
“The intention certainly has a chance on the market, simply because it has no more or less competition at the moment, as similar projects are slowly emerging in our country,” says Iva Nováková, a housing market specialist at the consulting company JLL. Vala won the project in Stodůlky the year before last. It originally belonged to the Israeli developer Neocity, who vacated his position in Prague alongside his generous plans.
For the time being, other developers are resisting the construction of rental flats due to their long returns. Instead, the market leader Central Group and the Prague Real Estate Administration have started offering so-called investment apartments. Their principle is that although the builder sells the residence, the owners offer to get a tenant and thus guarantee a yield.
“For this purpose, we are preparing two projects in the wider center of Prague near the metro, where this model could work,” said Central Group spokesman Milan Jankovský. Competitive Finep for a change years ago filled a gap in the cooperative housing market.
Čakovice is experiencing an unprecedented construction boom in Prague
