08. April 2020
Svoboda & Williams Offers Help to Tenants of Commercial Premises
The current situation will inevitably disrupt the entire office segment of the real estate market. In this difficult time, Svoboda & Williams offers help with optimizing operating office, manufacturing, and warehouse space costs.
Svoboda & Williams now offers tenants of non-residential premises an initial free consultation and analysis of their current lease terms. The aim of this service is to reach an agreement with the landlord that would lead to the overall reduction of the tenant’s operating costs, a renegotiation of the lease terms, the sublease of unoccupied space, or the relocation of the tenant. Alternately, companies can take advantage of our Flexi Office Management services, allowing Svoboda & Williams to find temporary shared offices with flexible lease terms.
“Tenants of commercial premises are starting to ask us about ways to deal with the sudden situation. Many companies have seen their revenues fall sharply. We are trying to monitor the market and offer assistance during negotiations with landlords, whose situation is no less complicated,” adds Dagmar Skalníková, who is in charge of tenant representation at Svoboda & Williams.
06. April 2020
Svoboda & Williams Continues to Offer a Full Range of Services
The first COVID-19 case in the Slovak Republic was confirmed on March 6th, 2020. Since then, more than a month has passed and it’s been 3 weeks since a state of emergency was declared. Despite these circumstances, Svoboda & Williams has adapted to the situation and provided its services in full throughout the month of March.
The Slovak team of the Svoboda & Williams real estate agency is complete and continues to be ready to provide all of our services as usual. Every segment of the real estate market without exception had to adapt to the current situation. Svoboda & Williams’ real estate agents offer real-time video property viewings through video calls, and many clients have taken advantage of this option. Our residential rental department responded by offering Flexi Rentals that reflects the new market demands.
In March, the Residential Sales Department registered a 25-35% drop in demand. The number of newly signed reservation contracts also fell by the same amount in the same time period. It’s a good market for opportunistic investors, who can now benefit from discounts that would normally not be available. For real estate agencies, the situation is not as bleak as the media makes it seem. However, one thing is already clear: the post-coronavirus market will a buyer’s and tenant’s market, at least for some time.
26. March 2020
Svoboda & Williams Presents Flexi Rentals: A New Concept of Rental Housing
The coronavirus pandemic has affected all segments of the real estate market, including rental housing, and this doubly applies to the Bratislava short-term rental market, which, according to current estimates, consists of about 2,500 apartments. Tenants are now likely to demand flexible relationships with landlords in this uncertain time. Svoboda & Williams is therefore launching a new concept of rental housing—Flexi Rentals—fully furnished apartments with flexible rental terms.
One of the first measures enacted after the global spread of the coronavirus was a complete ban on tourism. The full impact of this on the real estate rental market can only be speculated. Moreover, some form of regulation of this segment can also be expected. Housing units that have until now been used as accommodation for visitors and tourists are already starting to create a surplus in the selection of apartments for rent in the wider center of Bratislava. The market thus has to contend with an unprecedented disruption that will affect all landlords, including those who rent their properties on a long-term basis.
Svoboda & Williams has therefore come up with a solution for the rental market: Flexi Rentals. This new concept of rental housing offers landlords complete management services of their unused units. “Tenants will be able to sign contracts for a rental period that suits them. We believe that this type of rental option will be greeted positively by people due to the current situation,” adds David Martan, Head of the Slovak branch of Svoboda & Williams.
23. March 2020
Svoboda & Williams Newly Offers Real-Time Video Property Viewings
Due to the current recommended preventive measures that aim to minimize personal contact, in addition to standard property viewings Svoboda & William real estate agents are now offering real-time video property viewings. Clients can tour the property from the comfort of their own homes via WhatsApp, FaceTime, Skype, Messenger, and other apps.
“Video viewings are nothing new to the real estate market, however, the current situation has forced us to take a more innovative approach to property viewings. Just like they would schedule a normal viewing, our brokers arrange a video call with clients at a set time. Unlike previously filmed property tours, the advantage of this format is that the broker can interact with the client in real time,” explains Michaela Koudelová, Sales Department Manager.
Please contact Svoboda & Williams if you’d like to schedule a real-time video viewing and our brokers will explain the process to you. Standard property viewings are still available for clients who prefer a more direct contact.
06. March 2020
Svoboda & Williams Participated in the Christie’s International Real Estate Global Conference in Palm Beach
The main topics of the two-day conference, which took place at the end of February 2020, were the current trends in the premium real estate market and the latest innovations in marketing. These and other issues were discussed among the participating representatives of real estate agencies from Europe, North and South America, and Australia that are affiliates of the Christie’s International Real Estate network.
Members of the Svoboda & Williams team attended this year’s conference organized by Christie’s International Real Estate. Held in Palm Beach, its program was devoted to the development of the premium real estate market, the new generation of marketing strategies, as well as to environmental issues and the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy. “The conference allowed us to see the premium real estate segment from a global perspective, making it easier to predict what awaits us in the coming period, and we also got to know what marketing tools are most effective for this particular segment,” adds Prokop Svoboda, owner of Svoboda & Williams.
“The collaboration and exchange of ideas over the two days of meetings, through both guest speakers and networking opportunities, provided our Affiliates with strategies to strengthen and grow their luxury businesses,” stated Dan Conn, CEO of Christie’s International Real Estate.
Christie’s International Real Estate has been active on the global premium real estate market for more than 30 years. It currently has affiliates in 49 different countries. Svoboda & Williams has been the exclusive affiliate for the Czech Republic and Slovakia since 2017.
17. February 2020
The Real Estate Market Through the Eyes of Svoboda & Williams for the Fourth Time
The Svoboda & Williams real estate agency has published its fourth Market Report, which analyzes the situation in the premium segment of the Prague residential real estate market in the second half of 2019. The most significant event of the previous year was Svoboda & Williams’ expansion to the Slovak market, and so this issue has a Czecho-Slovak theme and is published for the first time in Slovak.
The analysis contained in the Market Report is based on data from the sales and rental transactions conducted by Svoboda & Williams. Complemented by sales data obtained from the Cadastre of Real Estate with parameters that correspond to the portfolio of Svoboda & Williams, a comprehensive overview of sales and rental prices on the Prague premium residential market has been created. The Market Report also summarizes the events on the Prague real estate market, placing it within the context of the domestic and international economy. On the occasion of Svoboda & Williams’ entry on the Slovak market, the topic of the report’s Focus section this time is Bratislava.
In the second half of 2019, Svoboda & Williams recorded the following trends in the premium property segment:
Sales:
- Rising demand from investors is putting pressure on property prices, causing them to increase
- Rising construction costs and premium standards of completion lead to an increase in prices in the premium real estate segment
- The average achieved price per sq. m. of the properties monitored by Svoboda & Williams had a year-on-year increase of 3%
- The number of projects whose construction began in 2019 rose by 102%
Rentals:
- The supply in the premium segment remains stable, it only decreased in the segment of more affordable apartments
- Demand weakened slightly due to tenants’ lack of motivation to move
- Increase of the short-term rental offer
An integral part of the Market Report is also a detailed analysis of sales and rental prices on the Prague premium residential market. It is based solely on data from realized, not asking, prices. Svoboda & Williams therefore created the Rental Price Index of S&W + VŠE analytical tool in cooperation with the Faculty of Informatics and Statistics of the University of Economics in Prague.
Svoboda & Williams Market Report | H2 2019 download (pdf)
Rental Prince Index of S&W + VŠE (pdf)
Overview of all Market Reports published so far.
24. November 2019
The SVOBODA & WILLIAMS CUP 2019 Generated CZK 265,100 in Support of the Tereza Maxová Foundation
As usual, the SVOBODA & WILLIAMS CUP tournament took place in UNYP Aréna – Podvinný Mlýn. A total of 12 teams representing the leading companies from the world of real estate participated in the charity futsal competition. The winner of this year’s cup is the Czeck Sport Media team. The tournament raised CZK 265,100 in support of the Tereza Maxová Foundation. The amount was symbolically handed over to Terezie Sverdlinová, the director of the foundation, and Renata Langmannová, ambassador of the TERIBEAR project.
This year, the teams that participated in the SVOBODA & WILLIAMS CUP were from the 108 AGENCY, Accolade, Albatros design, Czech Sport Media, CAPEXUS, CBRE, Colliers International, CPI Property Group, CTP Invest, JLL, and Mint Investments companies, together with Svoboda & Williams, organizers of the event. This year, the cup went to Czech Sport Media, whose team defeated CBRE, who took home the silver medal. The bronze went to Svoboda & Williams. The best player of the tournament award was given to Simona Šedivá from CBRE. The best goalkeeper of the tournament award went to Daniel Sládek from Czech Sport Media.
Thanks to the voluntary contributions from the participating companies and profits from the sale of tickets to the charity raffle, this year’s SVOBODA & WILLIAMS CUP managed to raise a record CZK 265,100, exactly CZK 12,268 more than last year's record-breaking amount. The entire amount will go to the Tereza Maxová Foundation, which has been helping disadvantaged and abandoned children by enabling them to grow up in loving families since 1997.
The Tereza Maxová Foundation used last year’s proceeds to support two organizations: the Lata project, which helps socially disadvantaged children, young people, and families overcome difficult situations and focuses on the prevention of social exclusion, and the Rozum a Cit non-profit organization, which supports Czech foster families primarily through various therapeutic activities.
Just like last year, the organizers managed to create a relaxed social event for the whole family. As always, there was something in store even for the tournament’s youngest fans, and refreshments were provided by Prague Catering. The main prizes of the charity were two vouchers for accommodation in an apartment in Masarykova N°30 in Brno, and a voucher for renting a car for the weekend from the Invelt company worth CZK 7,500.
Raffle prizes for the participating teams and fans were kindly donated by the tournament’s sponsors: Invelt, Aqua Angels, Prague Chocolate by Steiner & Kovarik, Iyengar Yoga Institute Prague, Imago Mundi, Prosek Bobsleigh Track, JV Classics, Hotel Dolce Vita, Pizza Nuova by Ambiente, ORGANICS by Filip Gregor, Mooq, Luxury Dry Cleaning, La Cave D’Adrien, Chateau Dobříš, Masarykova N°30, Belsport, jsem/Lenka Štěpánková, and Wolfgang Store.
Czech Sport Media helped organize the tournament.
Download the complete results.
22. November 2019
The Feelhome by Svoboda & Williams Branch in Bratislava Was Ceremonially Opened
The ceremonial opening of the Feelhome branch, located in the modern Slnečnice neighborhood, took place on Thursday, November 21st. Invited guests had the opportunity to personally meet members of the Slovak and Czech teams of Svoboda & Williams and explore the stylish space designed by Atelier SAD.
The ceremonial opening of the Feelhome branch consisted of an afternoon cocktail event with representatives of the leading investment companies, Slovak developers, members of partner companies, and selected clients in attendance. The Slovak team of the Svoboda & Williams real estate agency presented the concept of the Feelhome brand and spoke about the opportunities created by this renowned real estate agency’s entry into the Slovak market.
The Feelhome branch selected the large district of Slnečnice, which is being built in a new part of Petržalka, as the location of its office. Clients can stop by weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Slovak version of the Feelhome website.
11. November 2019
Svoboda & Williams Opened Its New Feelhome Branch in Bratislava
The Svoboda & Williams real estate agency is bringing its Feelhome brand to the Slovak market. Feelhome features properties from the lower and mid-priced real estate segments. The Bratislava Feelhome branch, which opened its doors in October, is located in the new Slnečnice neighborhood, the largest residential project in Slovakia.
The Feelhome brand offers apartments and family houses for sale and rent with affordable prices, yet still with the same high standard of services that clients have come to expect from Svoboda & Williams. Feelhome’s selection of properties, which currently consists of apartments and family houses for sale and rent in Bratislava and other attractive locations in Slovakia, comes with the experience of a renowned real estate agency with its own unique style of communication.
The Feelhome office in the stylish Slnečnice neighborhood on the right bank of the Danube River where Petržalka ends was designed by the SAD atelier. Slnečnice has the vibrant atmosphere of a modern neighborhood with everything that this entails: residential housing, public spaces, and greenery. Upon completion, almost 9,000 residents will call it their home. “Thanks to the gradual development of affordable and comfortable housing in Slnečnice with urban features yet close to nature, we could not have found a better place to fit the brand concept of Feelhome,” says David Martan, head of the Slovak branch of Svoboda & Williams.
Feelhome’s address is Zuzany Chalupovej 10B. It is open for clients every weekday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Slovak version of the Feelhome website.
11. November 2019
Current Trends in the Slovak Real Estate Market
In many ways, the Slovak real estate market shares similar characteristics with the Czech one: property prices are rising (especially in the capital city and its immediate area), interest rates are falling, and the demand for housing is higher than the supply available. These trends are not projected to change in the near future, making Slovakia a very interesting country from an investment perspective.
Analysts have been pointing out that interest rates have hit bottom and that we must expect them to rebound, but the opposite is true—the average mortgage interest rate in the Czech Republic and Slovakia is still decreasing. Banks in both markets are trying to make up for the collapse of the mortgage market. For example, the Slovenská spořitelna bank currently offers mortgages with a 0.79% interest rate (the average interest rate in the Czech Republic is 2.47%). However, with rising housing prices there is less interest in mortgages: in the second quarter, Slovak properties showed a year-on-year increase of 8.3%. The fastest rising prices are for older properties, and potential buyers will pay 5% more for new properties than in 2018. Real estate prices in Bratislava are three times higher than in other regions; in the popular district of Bratislava II – Ružinov they are even increasing by 12% annually.
Investors who are thinking about placing part of their capital in the Slovak real estate market will appreciate the fact that there are no restrictions for foreign clients in this area, except in the acquisition of farmland. What’s more, the increase in property prices is not expected to slow down. In fact, real estate costs are rising exponentially, which is reflected in the prices of new residential projects. The Slovak market also has many advantages over its Czech counterpart. For one, Slovakia doesn’t have a real estate acquisition tax, which means that, compared to the Czech Republic, properties are 4% cheaper. Slovakia is also part of the eurozone, and so investors can have confidence in a stable currency, while avoiding exchange rate risk and currency conversion fees, which are around 1%. Another benefit is Bratislava’s strategic location on the border of Austria and Hungary and close to the Czech Republic.
