By Andrea Harper

There is as yet no evidence that property prices in the Czech Republic are rising as a direct result of the increased VAT rate which hit mthe market at the start of the year.

The Vat rate jumped from 5% on most new builds to 9% from January 1.

Eva Kavkova, our partner in the Czech Republic, said: "The VAT rise has not had an impact on prices - they certainly haven't jumped 4% overnight to cover the increase to the new rate of 9%.

"However, the change of VAT did create higher buying demand before the end of 2007, mainly within the local market."