In the wider city center, the highest rents go as high as 22 euros, and on the city outskirts, up to 16.50 euros per square meter per month. At the same time, differences between individual locations are becoming more pronounced: not only based on distance from the city center, but also on building quality, the age of the office stock and the current supply of available space.

Premium rents remain high around public transport stations

“The most expensive locations continue to be stations in the very center of Prague. The highest rents are found around the Náměstí Republiky and Muzeum stations, where prime rents hover around 30 euros per square meter per month,” says Josef Stanko, Director of Market Research at Colliers. In general, he notes, the highest prices are concentrated around metro transfer (hub) stations and in the immediate vicinity of transfer points, such as Národní třída and Křižíkova. Rental prices in these most attractive zones have stabilized and hover around 30 euros per square meter per month.

However, these figures are based on completed transactions. Current rent asking prices for projects under construction often differ by as much as several euros, and these projects in popular locations are expected to set a new price standard very soon.

At the opposite end of the price spectrum are locations near stations on the outskirts of the city. Petřiny has the lowest prime rent at 10 euros per square meter per month. It is followed by Zličín at 13 euros and Opatov at 14 euros.

More Expensive Areas Outside the City Center

However, even a greater distance from the city center does not automatically mean lower rent. Rents of 20 euros or more are also common near some stations outside the capital’s historic center, particularly around Pankrác, Budějovická, Invalidovna, Palmovka and Roztyly. This is due to a combination of good transportation access, modern office developments, nearby amenities and growing interest from companies in locations that offer a high-quality work environment outside the city’s most expensive downtown area.

Vacancy Rates Have Fallen

The vacancy rate for Prague office space has fallen below 6 percent this year. There are significant differences among individual districts though. If we look only at top-tier AAA-class buildings, those in the city center recorded a vacancy rate of just 2.3 percent, so prospective tenants have practically nothing to choose from. In addition to the city center itself, Karlín also achieved a very low vacancy rate of 2.7 percent. Brumlovka is doing slightly better at 4.8 percent as is Pankrác at 5.2 percent. In contrast, Stodůlky and Nové Butovice report vacancy rates exceeding 17 and 10 percent, respectively. “Prague thus has two distinct office markets: one overheated and the other stagnant,” says Josef Stanko, describing the situation.

Generally speaking, the lowest vacancy rates are currently found around the Invalidovna, Hlavní nádraží and Flora stations, where they hover at just around 1 percent. Radlická, Náměstí Republiky, Křižíkova and Nádraží Holešovice also show very low availability of vacant space, with vacancy rates reaching approximately 2 percent. Vltavská, Vysočanská, Florenc and Pražského povstání remain at 3 percent.

At the opposite end of the spectrum you have the areas around the Želivského, Stodůlky, Kolbenova, Roztyly and Nové Butovice stations. The vacancy rate at Želivského is 28 percent, at Stodůlky 18 percent, at Kolbenova 15 percent, at Roztyly 14 percent and at Nové Butovice 13 percent. Year-on-year, the vacancy rate in the area around the Želivského station fell from 35 percent to 28 percent, at Kolbenova from 17 to 15 percent, and at Roztyly from 20 to 14 percent. This demonstrates that even outlying areas are slowly attracting tenants as the city center becomes more crowded.

Offices Are Aging

“Future developments in the office market around metro stations will be influenced not only by new construction, but also by the ageing of the existing office stock. By 2030, up to 600,000 square meters of office space in Prague will be 20 or more years older,” notes Josef Stanko. According to him, this creates significant opportunities for modernizing buildings, raising their technical standards and, in some cases, changing their use. For tenants, this also means a wider range of options: from state-of-the-art premium projects to more affordable offices in older buildings.

Prime rent represents the benchmark for a consistently achievable rent for a unit measuring approximately 500 to 1,000 square meters in a state-of-the-art office building in the most sought-after location within a given submarket or area. This figure does not include unique units or specific transactions.