Cost of living in Poland: Housing costs in 2023

“There is a house built out of stone” – is the first verse of the hauntingly beautiful song “To Build a Home” by The Cinematic Orchestra. Yet the current level of apartment prices in Poland ensures that the dream expressed in the song's title is more taunting than haunting. Building a house is simply not an option many of us can afford.

Apartments, whether we are renting or owning them, seem like an option more approachable to a usual consumer. But even their prices have been on a steady rise – as you will see in the data below.

Renting an apartment in Poland – how much does it cost in 2023?

In 2023, the rent prices for a 2-room apartment of around 40-50m2 in selected cities in Poland were as presented below:

Source: Domiporta.pl

As per the data above, we can see that renting an apartment in Warsaw is significantly more expensive than similar size lodgings in another major Polish city. For two-room apartment can cost around 4000 PLN – and this marks a rapid increase if the price, as a year before an average price was around 700 PLN less.

Buying a property – Prices in Europe

Deloitte’s Property Index analyzed the trends in the European real estate market in 2023, with some interesting findings. The data offers an overlook of the average price (in EUR) per square meter of a property in each country.

The lowest property prices were noted in: Bosnia and Herzegovina – 1,237 EUR/sq m, Greece – 1,330 EUR/sq m, Romania – 1,417 EUR/sq m, Portugal – 1723 EUR/sq m, Serbia – 1,785 EUR/sq m and Slovenia – 1,927 EUR/sq m.

At the other end of the price scale, with a whopping 5701 EUR/sq m Israel took the title of the country with the most expensive dwelling prices, followed by Austria – 4,925 EUR/sq m, and Germany – 4,800 EUR/sq m.

All in all, the cost of buying property increased in 22 out of 25 surveyed countries. A price decrease was noted only in the United Kingdom – with 18,8% decrease, resulting in 3980 EUR/sq m, and in Denmark – a decrease of 9,7% and an average price of 3104 EUR/sq m.

Buying a flat in Poland – the average cost for a meter square

In Poland, the average transaction price for a new dwelling was 1975 EUR/sq m, which marks a 14,1% increase from the year before. This is a significant change, yet Poland’s property prices remain relatively low when contrasted with other European countries.

If we divide it by major Polish cities, the average price in Euros per square meter is (from highest to lowest): EUR/sq m

• Warsaw – 2682
• Kraków – 2373
• Gdańsk – 2370
• Wrocław – 2205
• Poznań – 2020
• Katowice – 1988
• Łódź – 1741

This makes Warsaw the most expensive city in Poland to buy an apartment in. This is 35,8 % above the country's average price – a number not insignificant, as we will feel the costs compounding with each square meter. But if we compare it with the discrepancies between prices of acquiring property in a capital vs. each country’s average, Warsaw’s 35,8% looks almost reasonable. For reference, an apartment in Barcelona Paris will have a price higher by 121,9%, and one in Paris – 215,2%.

How affordable is buying an apartment in Poland?

Deloitte’s report states that to buy a new standard dwelling in Warsaw, you would need to spend somewhere between 8 to 10 times the average annual gross salary. This puts the Polish capital city in the same bracket as Zagreb or London.

Interestingly, some capitals seem still more affordable – a new home in Rome or Oslo would cost you an equivalent of 7 to 8 times the country’s average annual salary.

This price disproportion is most noticeable when contrasted with another side of the spectrum – in Amsterdam becoming a property owner can cost us even 15,8 times the country’s average annual salary.

What factors contribute to the rising apartment prices in Poland?

Deloitte’s 12^th edition of their Property Index informs that the chief factors contributing to the rise of property prices in 2023 were the rapid increases in energy costs, building material prices, and interest rates.

The prognosis for apartment prices in 2024-2025

According to a Credit Agricole report, the prices of apartments on the primary market may remain at a steady level till the end of 2023 (around 11,325 PLN – 2615 EUR /sq m).

However, the data suggest that further price rises are on the horizon in the following years: with 11 943 PLN – 2760 EUR/sq m in 2024 (5,5% increase) and 12 934 – 2987 EUR in 2025 (an increase of 8,4%).

Credit Agricole’s report indicates that there are a few factors that could impact the prognosis in the following years. Those include the impact of higher interest rates on housing demand and prices, as well as the probable parallel reduction of housing supply.

SOURCES:

Credit Agricole – scenariusz wyraźnego wzrostu- cen mieszkań w 2024 r coraz bardziej-prawdopodobny

Deloitte – Property Index Report 2023

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