Czech Republic Property Investment News

Investors see potential in Czech Republic's retirees

Investors in Czech property are starting to recognise the considerable demand and spending power of the country’s older residents. According to the latest estimates by the Ministry for Regional Development, 27% of the population is over 60 years’ old, and by 2050 this is predicted to rise to 40%. This section of the market includes many of the Czech residents who became high-earning entrepreneurs in the years after communism ended in 1989; in their thirties then, they will now be in their late fifties and starting to consider retirement housing.

The overall amount of capital held by the Czech Republic’s older generation is hard to estimate, but there are two groups of people that are considered to be a potentially affluent segment of the market. There are those that made their money during the early days of capitalism, and those that had emigrated from the Czech Republic to make their money abroad and who have now come back to their rapidly developing home country.

Many real estate investors forecast a demand for age-appropriate accommodation over the coming years. Assisted-living accommodation is a growing industry sector in many developed countries, ranging from nursing homes to independent-living apartments. The latter in particular lends itself well to investment, as units in specially designed complexes can be bought and then sold or rented as other forms of investment property can. Such developments vary in quality, size and value like any kind of accommodation, but offer the necessary facilities – often including communal dining areas, transportation and housekeeping services – that make them ideal for older residents.

The demand for such accommodation in the Czech Republic is greater due to the fact that the country has a higher proportion of older people living alone than any other country. Of the country’s senior population in 2001, 23% of men and 60% of women were living alone.