The number of new homes started in the Czech Republic fell 14 percent in 2009 as the economic downturn took hold of the real estate market. Housing starts fell to 37,319 dwellings last year, statistics office data showed. For the first time in 15 years the number of newly completed dwellings was larger than new starts.
The global economic crisis has battered central Europe's real estate markets, leaving a glut of empty new flats and forcing some developers to sell apartment and office buildings at knock-down prices. A survey by global property consultant King Sturge showed this week average prices of Czech flats fell 7 percent last year - the first drop in 20 years. Growth is not likely until the end of 2010, analysts said.
Orco Property Group, one of the largest central European developers, saw its revenue fall 17 percent in the first nine months last year, while widening its net loss as it dealt with revaluations and impairment charges. The Czech economy contracted 4.3 percent last year and analysts see only a modest expansion this year as rising unemployment continues to drag on consumer demand. The statistics showed the value of all new construction orders, including civil engineering projects, dropped 26.4 percent last year to 183.6 billion crowns ($9.65 billion).
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