Flats in big Polish cities are still a hot commodity. Experts in rankomat.pl comparison engine checked the current demand for flats in 18 provincial cities.
At least 10,000 PLN per square metre
At the end of 2023, the standard price of flats in Wroclaw exceeded 10,000 PLN/sq.m. Such prices were valid also in Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk and Poznań.
This group has been joined quite unexpectedly by Katowice. The capital of the Silesia Province ranked ahead of Szczecin, Białystok, Lublin and Rzeszów, which were more expensive a year ago. Even in Q4 2022, flats in Katowice were among the cheapest in provincial cities.
However, it was there that prices increased at the fastest rate, rising even by 47% y/y on the secondary market. The lowest rates per square metre were recorded in such cities as Opole (8,168 PLN), Bydgoszcz (8,038 PLN) and Gorzów Wlkp. (6,623 PLN).
In Warsaw, the average price per square metre n Q4 2023 totalled 16,815 PLN on the primary market and 17,403 PLN on the secondary market. On the primary market, the record price growth occurred in Toruń, where prices rose by 32% compared to the same period last year.
Prices of flats have never risen so quickly
High prices of flats in some provincial cities are one thing. The rate at which apartment prices increase is also worth noticing. In Wroclaw, the average price per square metre on the primary market rose from 11,834 PLN in 2022 to 13,112 PLN in Q4 2023. On the secondary market, the price rose from 11,026 PLN to 13,427 PLN.
According to Przemysław Święch, a housing consultant and a secondary market expert in Wroclaw agency VERSO Nieruchomości, such a large increase of flat prices is the aftermath of the Safe Credit 2% programme launched in the middle of the last year.
Przemysław Święch: ‘The growth dynamics was particularly high in December, because customers wanted to benefit from the discount and complete the purchase before the end of this programme.’
According to an expert, inflation and the increase of labour costs also had an impact on apartment prices. Because of an increase of the minimum pay, developers had to pay more to their employees and, consequently, to increase prices of flats on sale.
Przemysław Święch: ‘Currently the demand is relatively stable and much smaller than in December. But inquiries are still coming in, particularly from persons having enough cash to buy property.’
Prices will rise in the middle of the year
Przemysław Święch says that flats are currently sought mainly by persons having cash.
Przemysław Święch: ‘We expect that prices will rise sharply in the middle of the year, when the government is planning to introduce a new housing programme.’
The ranking is based on data collected by real property websites: RynekPierwotny.pl and GetHome.pl. The analysis of flat prices applies to offer prices of flats on the primary market and on the secondary market in the period between the last quarters of 2023 and 2022.
