Alternative Real Estate Segments in 2025: Rental Housing, Student Accommodation, and Healthcare Facilities

Given the high purchase prices of residential property, we expect demand for BTR projects from investors to continue rising. This trend mirrors developments in Western Europe, where investment in rental residential properties has become one of the most attractive and stable asset classes. Sharp property price increases and declining affordability of homeownership are forcing more people to opt for long-term renting.

A key question arises: do large investors—who buy entire apartment buildings—divert developer capacity that would otherwise be used for owner-occupied housing projects? In practice, the market tends to respond to current demand. When there was strong interest in owner-occupied housing and sales were booming, BTR projects were relatively rare, as developers prioritized direct sales to end users. However, during periods of slower sales caused by high mortgage rates, the number of rental-focused projects increased.

It can therefore be said that the BTR segment does draw from the overall development capacity, but the exact impact on apartment prices is difficult to quantify.

Large institutional landlords currently achieve yields in the low single-digit range. Nevertheless, the segment remains attractive due to its long-term investment strategy, which factors in both rental income growth and capital appreciation of the properties themselves.

While most BTR projects have so far been concentrated in Prague, the trend is beginning to spread to other cities. For example, MINT Residential Fund offers rental apartments in Brno and Plzeň, while Heimstaden owns a large portfolio in Ostrava and the surrounding area. Brno, as the second-largest city with a significant number of international companies and university students, is becoming increasingly attractive to investors. For instance, Crestyl has announced that its new Dornych project in Brno will include 186 rental apartments.

In addition to Brno and Plzeň, investor interest is also expected in other regional capitals and large towns near Prague, such as Kladno or Mladá Boleslav.

Recently passed legislation will now allow pension funds and investment companies to invest in housing. This change has the potential to significantly increase the availability of rental housing. However, a key factor will be rental affordability, to ensure these units remain accessible to a broad segment of the population. Overall, we expect Prague to gradually align with Western European capitals, where rental housing represents a much higher share of the total housing stock.

Healthcare properties are increasingly becoming a target for investors, driven by demographic aging and the growing need for specialized facilities such as nursing homes, outpatient clinics, and rehabilitation centers. These investments are also supported by the public sector and European funding, which help finance both construction and modernization of healthcare infrastructure.

Healthcare facilities thus represent a stable segment with long-term demand, and their importance is expected to grow steadily in the coming years.

With the increasing number of both domestic and international students—and with limited capacity in traditional university dormitories—student housing is evolving into a distinct real estate category. Demand has long outstripped supply, leading not only to rising prices but also to growing interest from private investors who see the sector as stable and promising.

The modernization of state-run dormitories, the growing number of private student housing projects, and the implementation of energy-efficient solutions all suggest that student accommodation is no longer just about the cheapest place to stay—it’s also about comfort, location, and quality of life.