In the 1990s it seemed that the privatisation of property in Český Krumlov was successful in all respects. The mayor refused attractive offers by German and Austrian developers who wanted to buy not only individual houses but also whole blocks of historic buildings. Instead the town hall made it possible for those who lived in the houses to buy them. These people were forced to restore the buildings, however, and consequently fell into debt. To earn their money back, they opened cafes or shops on the ground floors. Shortly afterwards, the town started to come alive.
In Krumlov, however, a new phenomenon has appeared, and it is spreading to the most beautiful parts of other historical towns. Rich people are buying beautiful old houses but not living in them. They either consider them investments, because they think a Renaissance house on the town square cannot lose its value, or they use them as second homes where they spend weekends from time to time. This happens primarily in small towns with beautiful neighbourhoods.
Town centres consequently become desolate, and when tourists and the new owners of these summer homes leave town, one walks through a well-kept but otherwise dead area with dark windows on autumn evenings. This is basically the fate of Prague's Malá Strana, where the few remaining longtime residents fear the day when a new, often Italian or Russian, owner comes and pays them fair compensation, moving them out of the neighbourhood. It would be easy to complain about capital or market conditions. The entire matter is largely in the hands of town halls, which care more about their property than people and do not require those who buy important buildings to also live in them.