Czech Republic Property Investment News

Czech Republic gets its first low-energy housing project

The Czech Republic is the latest Eastern European country to have its real estate industry address the global warming issue by creating environmentally-friendly housing. The Borová Lada project is reportedly the first of its kind in the Czech Republic. Currently under construction in south Bohemia, the complex will consist of 11 detached single-family homes and 27 apartment blocks containing 81 units on a total area of 560 acres. The developers of the project have ensured that each building in the complex is built using only natural materials and have taken environmental factors into consideration throughout the design and construction process.

The news of this project comes on the back of recent comments from the country’s Environment Ministry on the importance of investors going ‘green’. "All of us, including real estate investors, are responsible for ongoing damage to air quality and climate change," says Jakub Kašpar, the ministry’s spokesman. "They, too, are facing the consequences." The Environment Ministry has been attempting to encourage more eco-friendly real estate projects in the country for some years now.

Environmentally-friendly housing such as the 315 million Kč ($15.8 million) Borová Lada project is still the more expensive option, although with more of such housing being built globally, prices should begin to come down. Supporters of eco-friendly projects also point to the long-term savings on running costs: "Investors will end up saving a lot of their own money on energy consumption if they invest in low-energy buildings," Kašpar says. The architect of the Borová Lada project, Adam Rujbr, points out that "…it can definitely save you a lot of money in the long run. Although the cost of purchasing a low-energy home is higher, the operational costs are much lower, especially in a region with such strong winters [such as Bohemia in the Czech Republic]."

The jury is still out within the real estate industry as to whether being built in an environmentally-friendly way adds real value to a property, but with more and more of these projects appearing around the world, it is clear that it is a growing market. Those considering an investment property in the Czech Republic now have the option of going green.