Prices of Apartments Close to Cemeteries Are to Go up
Prague cemeteries may be found even in the most luxurious residential locations. What will their vicinity deliver to you as the seller or buyer? Many of us walk past them daily, on your way to work or school, and we see them as a normal part of urban development. Yet proximity of Prague cemeteries affects real estate prices.
Such places of rest, where there often lie bearers of the greatest names of Czech history, are architectural treasures of incalculable historical value. For example the Jewish cemetery in Josefov belongs on the programme of every proper tourist. Equally valuable is also the cemetery in Ďáblice. We have written about the only Cubist cemetery in the world in our Article The Greatest Curiosity of the Open House Festival. The latter as well as the above-stated Old Jewish Cemetery are on the list of Czech cultural heritage sites.
Czechs are too demanding
View of the commemorative plaques of the most famous Prague cemeteries, which is moreover enjoyed by only a very limited number of flats however does not mean any rise in the price of the properties. Although there are connoisseurs who welcome this privilege for its historical context - for example Airbnb tenants - but for classic clients who look for their own permanent, or even temporary accommodation for a weekend´s leisure, such apartments just are not attractive. It is the same as in the case of properties near railway lines. In London you will find thousands of apartments alongside them; in Prague there is not a great deal of interest in them, despite their lower prices. Czechs are simply still too demanding.
According to our research of the current market offer, on the basis of these premises, real estate prices in immediate proximity of cemeteries are lower than in the case of others in the same location. The biggest price drop of up to 30 % in this category was registered in Prague 1. In other areas the differences are less visible, at around 10%.
Business with death
However, what currently appears to be a prestigious investment is paradoxically a "property" directly in the cemetery. No kidding. The current trend is to secure a luxury place of last rest. There are very few of them and already they are difficult to get, Despite the fact that cemeteries occupy a whole of 0.2% area of the entire city. They are not defined in the Cadastre as units, but are only entered in the cemetery plan and lie on land belonging to the municipality. In majority of cases you have a chance to get them only in the event that someone will end their lease agreement, failing to extend it in a timely manner.
Furthermore, during the last decade the number of deaths in comparison to previous years shows a slightly increasing trend. This is also due to the fact that our population is aging. To invest into the place of last rest them immediately appears to be a completely logical consequence of the current situation. Lack of spaces is reflected also in the price that ranges from CZK 400,000 to 1 million crowns for a 100-year lease.
The price of apartments near cemeteries can rise dramatically
Here one can see that not always the subject of death is pushed beyond the periphery of our everyday life. However, real estate near places of last rest is still unreasonably delegated outwith the centre of our interests. Why should a flat which is a few meters farther away from the cemetery be more expensive than one that is closer by? It is only a matter of time when this issue without answers will be bet on by savvy investors. Then the price of these properties may dramatically rise. And the most interesting increase can be, as always, expected in Prague 1.
Our real estate agency Y&T Luxury Property can confirm that the luxury segment in recent times is doing very well and we believe that real estate prices in interesting Prague locations will continue to grow. So why not opt for a cheaper option which can later capitalise on?
Prague cemeteries: interesting figures
Particularly in the case of places the numbers are approximate.
Olšany cemetery at Žižkov quarter (the largest in terms of size)
Founded: 1679
Area: 50.17 ha.
Number of graves: 65,000 graves, 25,000 tombs, 20,000 or urn graves, 200 crypts, 6 columbarium walls
Ďáblice cemetery (the second largest by its area)
Founded: 1896
Area: 29 ha
Number of graves: 81 tombs, 3,203 graves, 4,817 urn graves, 696 places in a columbarium wall
The Jewish cemetery
Founded: 1st half of the 15th century
Area: 11,000m2
Number of graves: 80,000 graves in 12 cemetery layers
Vinohrady cemetery
Founded: 1885
Area: 10 ha
Number of graves: around 16,000 graves, over 900 tombs, 4,300 urn graves and 1,850 places in columbarium walls
Cemetery na Vyšehradě and Slavín
Founded: original cemetery as far back as in the 13th century.
Area: 0.81 ha
Number of graves: ?
Libeň cemetery
Founded: 1882
Area: 1.69 ha
Number of graves: 162 tombs, 2,400 graves and 348 urn graves
Cemetery Kobylisy
Founded: 1896
Area: 0.65 ha
Number of graves: 33 tombs, 724 graves and 222 urn graves
Cemetery Malvazinky
Founded: 1876
Area: 11,000m2
Number of graves: 12 crypts, 751 shrines, 8,420 graves and 680 urn graves
Břevnov cemetery
Founded: 1739
Area: 1.72 ha
Number of graves: 2,520 graves, 970 urn graves and 880 places in a columbarium wall
Střešovice Cemetery
Founded: 1900
Area: 0.61 ha
Number of graves: 21 graves and 1,100 urn graves
Cemetery Vokovice Liboc
Founded: 1842
Area: 2.27 ha
Number of graves: 185 shrines, 1,800 tombs, 270 urn graves and 1,786 places in a columbarium wall.
