Czech rental apartment fund acquiring regional cities

Ceskeho Bydleni has completed the acquisition of two apartment buildings near Ostrava and near Melnik, both of which are fully occupied by tenants. The investment fund expects the buildings to produce returns of between 6 and 7 percent on the two buildings which is in line with its advertised strategy. The fund's co-founder Jakub Korinek claims that rent levels for apartment buildings in these types of locations haven't been hurt by the pandemic the way they have in tourist cities like Prague. "The situation on the rental market in the regions wasn't dramatically influenced, so investments in the fund are still the most secure investment," he said. The minimum  investment in Ceskeho Bydleni is CZK 1 million. "It's not a huge amount in terms of investing in real estate and investors can hope for a return of 6 percent per year or more." Korinek said the fund purposely targeted apartment buildings in the regions because the stability of returns is greater there than in Prague. "In Prague, the rental market had to react to the sudden exodus of tourists, expats and people who left Prague because they lost their work. At the moment, the situation has stabilized, but it's likely that prices and occupancy levels could be hit in future waves of Covid," he said. The fund was set up in 2018.