Summary

The Czech Republic construction industry grew at a CAGR of 6.29% for the period 2003-2008. Non-residential sector's market share was 78.4% in 2008, while residential sector accounted for the balance 21.6%. The construction industry in the Czech Republic has been a key driver of the country's growth. The construction market has enjoyed a relatively stable growth over the past decade except for a slight decline during 1997-1999. In 2008, the Czech Republic construction market grew but at a slower rate of 4.5% to reach a market value of CZK431.0 billion (US$25.5 billion). The residential sector grew steadily over the years with Prague and other major cities witnessing most of the activity. The main factors supporting this were increases in living standards connected with steady economic growth, low mortgage rates of between 3.0%-5.0%, changes in VAT and state regulation of rents. The deregulation of rent would shift the residential starts towards more of rented accommodation than owned houses. An increase in the VAT rate on construction work from 5.0% to 9.0% also affected the property market and related lending in the Czech Republic. Efforts to buy real estate still at the lower VAT rate gave rise to increased demand for loans for the purchase of houses and also affected the construction industry's performance. The residential sector witnessed growth in 2007 and the total houses completed were up by 38.0% from 2006. Also, the housing starts were the highest since 1993. The Czech Republic non-residential construction sector saw growth in 2008 particularly in the area of industrial and storage buildings and was driven mainly by private investments. The sector also witnessed activity in infrastructure sub-segment primarily due to investment by the Czech government in the construction, re-development and modernization of highways and railway stations. The factors that have helped drive the construction growth in the Czech Republic are:
*The active mortgage market,
*Increase in investment from foreign developers and investors, especially in the office and retail sectors.

Table of Contents

Czech Republic Construction Market Analysis
Czech Republic Construction Competitive Landscape
Leading Czech Republic Construction Companies
Czech Republic Construction Market Forecast
Appendix