Enter LAAX Development, a homegrown company (staffed entirely by locals) that caters to this high-growth market segment. LAAX supplies custom-designed accommodation and commercial properties to clients with a taste for the finer things in life.

The Prague Post recently sat down with Ivana Dombková, one of LAAX's co-founders, to discuss the growth of the luxury real estate market. Over fresh-brewed coffee and slivers of chocolate in LAAX's gorgeous Prague 1 showroom, Dombková got down to the numbers of LAAX's innovative business model.

The Prague Post: Tell us about the origins of LAAX.

Ivana Dombková: Well, I'm an architect by trade. Design by Donlič was a luxury furnishings company that I started with my partner Rostislav Černík in 1997 in Opava [north Moravia]. Between 1997 and 2002, we dabbled in interior design for our clients. Yet somehow during those years we were still unsatisfied. In 2002, he and I identified an opportunity. The market had matured enough, and we began asking ourselves why we were limiting ourselves to only being a high-class service provider. We had heaps of experience and were both passionate about design. So we decided that we might as well own the premises we were designing ourselves, so we could in turn renovate the space exactly as our clients envisioned it, but totally from scratch. We were the only ones in the market back then doing this: custom-designed luxury. From the property chosen, to the way it looked inside, and right on down to the smallest detail, it was 100 percent passion.

TPP: Approximately what percentage of your revenue is attributable to Czech clienteleř

ID: To tell you the truth, 60 percent to 70 percent of our business is accounted for by non-Czechs: Americans and Brits, mostly.

TPP: Where in Prague do you conduct the majority of your businessř

ID: LAAX's specialties are Prague 1, 2 and 3. Occasionally what happens is one of our development associates — builders, actually — will call us about partnering with them on the renovation of a new property based somewhere in Prague where we don't currently own stuff. For instance, the other day one of our longstanding partners discovered a run-down building somewhere in Prague 7. So the client called me to inquire whether our projects team would be interested in making an immediate site visit to assess the feasibility of doing a facelift to ready it for sale. The builder described how he wanted the proposed new construction to look, so I discussed it with [Černík], and, just like that, LAAX took on its first project in Prague 7. Our partners enjoy working with us often because we do more than merely provide a service: We join forces with them to realize their architectural vision.

TPP: What is the range of prices on the property that LAAX handlesř

ID: The base price of any LAAX property starts at approximately 10 million Kč [$455,000]. We have no set maximum, so to speak. However, occasionally we offer smaller Prague flats for half of the base price, around 4 million to 5 million Kč. In any event, we currently own 30 standard attic- and classical-style apartments in the 10 million Kč price range, but much of the company's activity centers around build-to-suit and on-spec-style projects, which are typically much more expensive. Maximum limits for houses or offices of this sort depend on how intricate or elegant the client wants it to be. Our residential properties have a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, parking, a terrace, an office area, etc. Additional modifications are always extra, but strictly on client request.

TPP: For exampleř

ID: Well, say a client wishes to subdivide a larger commercial space — say around 200 square meters [2,150 square feet] — into a flexible-wall work space. This is a variation on the cubicle-style office layout, and offers a warmer and more inviting atmosphere in which to work. In such a situation, the walls can be shifted around or folded in various ways to adjust the room's layout to suit the client's particular taste. That's a solution we'd hypothetically offer on an a la carte basis, which would be a departure from the more traditional layout we presently offer as standard.

TPP: How quickly can you make a property available — concept to launch — given that clients know precisely what they want and you've sorted out the various legalities and fleshed out detailsř

ID: [laughs] Anywhere between 24 hours to three months! But a highly complex customization job might last nine months, and we've been involved in a couple of those throughout our four years of doing business.

TPP: Your marketing material also says that you offer properties for sale in Croatia. How did this come aboutř

ID: Ah, gorgeous Croatia! Well, my grandfather is originally from there, and I still have family there. My partner and I found a beautiful island 30 minutes by ferry off the coast of Split called Brac. We recently acquired a parcel of land there — not without its share of hassles, mind you — on which we intend to build property.

TPP: What sort of hassles preciselyř

ID: Well, one often hears how complicated the process can be for foreign buyers to acquire real estate in the Czech Republic. Obviously, such people have never attempted to do the same thing in Croatia! The chain of title that must be cleared prior to final approval on some random property is prohibitive in the extreme. My partner and I almost needed a psychiatrist — that's how complicated it was! Relatively speaking, however, the acquisitions process here in Prague is a breeze. The Czech Republic has a bad reputation, which is undeserved. Croatia, on the other hand ...

TPP: Could the eventual adoption of the euro hinder your business in any wayř

ID: We're already transacting in euros. We even list sale properties in some locations in euros. So the adoption of the currency won't disrupt our business in the least. In terms of competition from emerging markets outside the Czech Republic, Prague offers an experience that's unique in Europe. Sure, Ljubljana and Tallinn and Krakow are gorgeous cities, but they'll have a hard time competing against Prague's magic, in my opinion.

TPP: What new projects do you have in the pipelineř

ID: LAAX is presently developing our Beskydy property in Moravia on which we, together with our design affiliate, Donlič, intend to build. Beskydy has superb views, as well as being close to a golf course, which is a major upside for our clients. Here in Prague, we just acquired a former factory located right behind our head office here on Bílková that we've temporarily nicknamed 'Tovarna' [the Factory], and which we plan to retrofit for commercial leasing and which we hope will entice a large enough international film production house to establish its Central European headquarters here. Tovarna will be designed to fit loft-style compartments, which can be collapsed quickly in the event the space is used as a film shoot, for example, or if a production company needs the space to temporarily accommodate an international film crew. We're very excited about it and have already received several inquiries.

TPP: The future seems very rosy for LAAX.