The demography of Prague: who will your neighbours be?
If you are buying real property then you should be interested in what your potential neighbours are like. What rules do Asians follow when buying real property, where do French people like to live in Prague and who purchases historic flats in the centre of the capital city most frequently?
During my job at the Y&T Luxury Property agency I noticed that nationality often determines the popularity of locations for buying real property.. The population of Prague is 1.3 million people who live there permanently and over 282 thousand of this number is foreigners. Which Prague districts are individual nations most interested in and why?
The end of the Russian boom and Russian satellites
Popular locations for wealthy Russian-speaking clientele include Prague 6. This is where the Russian diplomats live and it is also the location of the Orthodox Church. There are also renowned Russian and British schools in this area.
Education is also a reason why the Prague district of Nebušice is a popular location for Russians. When choosing the location of their home, the school their children will be visiting is a decisive factor.
We can also find satellite towns being established near the capital city, where the majority of the population speaks Russian. This concerns for example the village of Trnová about 20 kilometres to the south of the centre of Prague.
Průhonice, which is right next to Prague, is also popular with this wealthy group of clientele. Russian can also increasingly be heard in Hůrka. This housing estate offers accommodation for less demanding customers.
In spite of this I am convinced that the Russian boim in the field of purchase and sale of real property is long past. The crisis started by the war in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions has had a major effect on the solvency of buyers from East Europe.
Russians owning real property in the Czech Republic are also more likely to be selling their flats and houses at present rather than buying them.
Buying according to the principles of Feng shui
Chinese and Vietnamese like Prague 4 and the surrounding area. The skyscrapers remind them of their native towns, this is frequently where their friends and acquaintances live and they also have a good infrastructure with shops and restaurants available here.
From the aspect of traditional Chinese Feng-Shui teachings it is always better to move into new accommodation, which is frequently a more important reason for these potential buyers than the option of greater appreciation of the real property in the historic centre of the city, which they are not very interested in.
In general, it applies that if a flat does not comply with the principles of Feng shui, then potential clients who follow these rules are not interested. There are so many potential clients from Asia today that we at Y&T Luxury Property are no longer surprised when a customer brings their personal Feng shui specialist with them to view a property.
Vinohrady belongs to the expats
On the contrary, the Prague district of Vinohrady is populated by a great number of expats. This part of the city has become a sort of “recommended” locality. If a foreigner lives here, he frequently recommends Prague to two other acquaintance who are moving to Prague in relation to their job.
The “Royal” district is also popular with natives of former Yugoslavia. Foreigners from Slovenia, Croatia and other countries on the Balkan peninsula seek out residential districts with enough vegetation. This is why they frequently live in areas around Letná in Prague 7.
On the contrary, the French prefer Prague 5, not only thanks to the parks and the fact that they are next to the romantic Malá Strana and its architecture, which they admire so much. More importantly there is a French lyceum and several other international schools in Smíchov.
Metropolitan Prague 1
However, new buyers from around the world are appearing in the Czech Republic. This year at Y&T Luxury Property we have sold flats to clients from India, the Arabian Emirates and Israel. One of our clients visited Prague from New York as a tourist and immediately purchased a flat here as an investment.
In most cases this concerned purchase of real property in Prague 1.
However, Czechs and even Slovaks, also frequently purchase real property in the centre for investment and residential purposes. These nationalities are the most loyal to the legacy of Czech architectural jewels, if possible linked to the names of well-known Czech architects. And most of these are naturally in the centre of the city.
Historic buildings also attract Italians and French who love luxury. They frequently seek out local Art Noveau buildings and also buildings from the Baroque period for example.
Czechs are no longer that conservative.
Czechs are much more relaxed about their requirements for accommodation nowadays. For example buyers frequently used to seek out real property in the districts of Prague they were born in or had lived in for some time. Today they are much less afraid of changes and are also interested in districts to which they do not have any links. Citizens of our nearest neighbour, Slovaks, have a similar attitude.
It is my experience at Y&T Luxury Property that Czechs and Slovaks are currently much less conservative about where they live. They are much more willing to accept foreigners as their neighbours and their culture. Slovaks are even less conservative. The residents of both related countries are beginning to understand that a multi-cultural environment may be related to a number of positive points and creates a varied and rich city life.
Numbers of foreigners permanently residing in Prague
And finally some interesting numbers that show how many foreigners come from specific countries and are permanently registered in Prague. Data was provided by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic.
Former Soviet Union Countries – 188,133 (Russia – 21,319)
Vietnam – 50,249
Slovakia – 47,519
Former Yugoslavia – 13,252
Chinese – 4,385
Italian – 1,632
France – 1,067
Japan – 348
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