In its latest analysis of the Prague office real estate market, Colliers describes significant differences in rental prices near metro (subway) stations. While rents for premium offices in the city centre can reach €30 or more per square meter per month, rents on the outskirts of the city remain well below €15. The office real estate market in the capital thus continues to show a trend of differentiation based on location and building quality, with proximity to the metro remaining a key factor influencing both prices and demand.
Národní třída has been added to the top locations
The highest rents in the city centre, specifically in the highest-quality projects near the Muzeum, Národní třída and Náměstí Republiky metro stations, are now around €30 per sqm per month. Compared to 2023, when the highest prices reached €27 at the Muzeum and Náměstí Republiky stations, there has been an increase in prices and an expansion of the area of premium office locations.
“The Prague metro network has long been the cornerstone of the city’s office real estate market development. Strategically located stations have become focal points for the city’s evolution and have transformed their surroundings into bustling business centres,” explains Jana Vlková, Director of Workplace Advisory and Office Agency at Colliers. Thanks to this trend, she says, once unremarkable areas have blossomed into prime office locations, sought after for their excellent transport connectivity and developed services.
At the other end of the spectrum are the outlying metro stations, where prime rents reach a maximum of €16.5 per sqm. The cheapest locations remain Zličín and Opatov at €13/sqm/month and Strašnická (€14.4). Prices then rise the closer offices are to the city centre. However, there are exceptions, especially with more recent projects such as in Roztyly or near the Želivského metro station. If tenants want to have a choice, it is best to stick to established locations such as Karlín, Pankrác and others.
“Following the increase in rents for newly built office buildings, we are seeing a gradual increase in the difference in base rents between buildings older than 10 years and the most modern projects,” says Jana Vlková. This trend allows tenants to choose between different levels of quality and corresponding financial demands.
Declining vacancy rates, but with local differences
The current vacancy rate for office space is declining slightly and stood at 6.6 percent at the end of the second quarter. However, the distribution of vacant space is interesting. Year-on-year declines in vacancy rates were recorded in areas closer to the city centre (city centre -1.4 p.p., wider centre -1.8 p.p.), while there was a slight increase (+0.2 p.p.) in areas around more distant metro stations on the outskirts of the city.
The highest vacancy rates are reported at Želivského (35 percent), Kolbenova (17 percent) and Roztyly (20 percent) metro stations. Conversely, the lowest vacancy rates of 2 percent are found in prestigious locations such as Muzeum and Náměstí Republiky (2 percent), as well as Karlovo náměstí, I.P. Pavlova, Pražského povstání and Strašnická.
