When did Central Europe Become More Expensive than the US?

So I just returned from my trip to Prague and Slovakia. This is the country where only a couple of decades ago, my mother would send me to a store to buy breakfast for four people with less than a dollar….times changed….According to the survey Worldwide Cost of Living made by Economic Intelligence Unit organization, Prague is the most expensive city in Central Europe. It is more expensive than Lisbon in Portugal or Boston and Detroit in the USA. Prague is also the second most expensive city (after Moscow) from all post-Communist countries. Falling exchange rates are not helping either, while a dollar used to cost almost 50 Slovak crowns some years ago, you only get about 20 crowns today. It is even worse in Czech Republic where for one dollar; you only get 16 crowns (CZK).

A week-long parking at Prague-Ruzyně costs CZK 2,000, that’s $125! My sister who lives in Prague hardly ever goes downtown. Locals will not pay $5 or more dollars for beer, and so tourists who visit Prague do not really even get to see the traditional culture or meet locals who live on the outskirts of the city. You see visitors enjoying very expensive cafes and restaurants that they would never frequent at home. Hotels are also expensive as well as shopping. It is hard to believe that my money goes much further in the US than in a post-Communist country. If you are planning a trip to Central Europe – because it is beautiful and totally worth it- start saving, or go where the locals go.

Rehava Market Snapshot

I have been using zillow.com for a while to see what other real estate markets are doing as well as to price homes in my neighborhood. Last week, rehava launched its new Rehava Market Snapshot – a new real estate tool that offers the same features as zillow, and much more. I showed it to my husband who happens to be a real estate agent (on the side as so many people today) and he was very happy with it as well.

Market Snapshot makes real estate buying and selling more transparent as it offers up-to-the minute MLS graphical reports (www.rehava.com). The shift in the real estate industry is inevitable as today’s buyers and sellers can do most of the work on-line themselves; rehava understands that and is offering tools to make this process so much easier.

Rehava’s Market Snapshot allows buyers and sellers to receive current and up-to-date real estate information that is tied in directly into the Charleston County tax records, National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the local MLS.

“It is important for buyers and sellers to receive as much up to date information as possible about the current market conditions and trends. I am unaware of any other tool available to the public free of charge that has more comprehensive data including demographics, mapping tools and home sold versus listed price,” says Steve deGuzman, broker in charge of rehava.

The company teamed with NAR to provide its clients and public an access via rehava’s real-time MLS account which makes rehava’s Market Snapshot more accurate. “Our Market Snapshot pulls live updates,” continues deGuzman.

Market Snapshot reports include graphic data such as what is the supply of unsold homes in one’s neighborhood, how fast are homes selling right now, how do actual selling prices compare to listing prices in my area, and many more.