Prague - Would you like to rent a flat, but the rent asked by the real estate agency seems too high to you? What should you do about it?
"Don't be afraid to come with your own counteroffer. It is very likely that you will find a compromise with the real estate agency," says a Prague realtor who did not wish to disclose his name. He adds that the number of clients who venture to bargain with real estate agencies is constantly growing.
His words find support in figures on current market rents released by the Ministry of Regional Development. The figures show that real monthly rents, as quoted in contracts signed in the past three years, are on average CZK 15 per square metre lower than the advertised prices.
The agents' offers are closest to the real rents in the centres of Prague, Plzeň, Liberec and Pardubice. According to the ministry, flats larger than 60 sq m in Prague centre are currently advertised at CZK 230 per sq m a month. The real contract price, though, has been CZK 225 on average in the past three years.
Ostrava shooting up
The largest differences between, on the one hand, the average advertised price for large flats and, on the other hand, the average price in recently concluded contracts are in Ostrava and Brno.
Agencies in Ostrava ask an average CZK 145/sq m per month, while the average calculated from contracts concluded in the past three years has been just CZK 130. In Brno, the advertised and real rents amount to CZK 190 and CZK 165 per sq m, respectively.
Analysts say that the big difference in the Ostrava region is logical. The region has become popular in the past year and the market rent is rising.
