In the fourth quarter of 2023, Warszawa had Poland's most valued house prices, amounting to over 10.2 thousand zloty per square meter. Following was Krakow with 9.5 thousand zloty per square meter.

As of December 2024, houses on the primary and secondary markets were the most expensive in Krakow, Poland. The average price for a house on the secondary market in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, was nearly 12,000 zloty per square meter.

Key information about House Prices Growth

• Poland house prices grew 16.3% YoY in Sep 2024, following an increase of 19.1% YoY in the previous quarter.
• YoY growth data is updated quarterly, available from Dec 2006 to Sep 2024, with an average growth rate of 4.2%.
• House price data reached an all-time high of 58.5% in Sep 2007 and a record low of -8.9% in Mar 2013.

CEIC calculates House Prices Growth from quarterly House Price Index. Narodowy Bank Polski provides House Price Index with base Same Quarter Previous Year=100. House Prices Growth covers 7 cities only - Gdansk, Gdynia, Lodz, Krakow, Poznan, Warsaw and Wroclaw.

In March 2024, the highest average price of detached houses in Poland was in Warsaw reaching more than 10.6 thousand zloty per square meter.

In the observed period, the highest annual increase in residential property prices in Poland's primary market was recorded in the first quarter of 2024, where apartment prices increased by over 19 percent year-on-year. The highest growth in the secondary market was also recorded in the first quarter of 2024 by 16.4 percent y/y. In the second quarter of 2024, the prices of residential properties increased by nearly 18 percent compared to the same period last year.

Poland's average transaction prices for a dwelling are shown as 100 percent. The average prices in nearly all of the main cities in Poland were higher than the country average. The highest prices for a dwelling were seen in Warsaw.

In 2022, Sopot held the highest price of houses in Poland, at over 18.4 thousand zloty per square meter. Following were Zakopane and Gdynia, both with 10 thousand zloty per square meter.

Geneva, Switzerland, was the most expensive city to buy an apartment in Europe in the first quarter of 2024. The square meter price in Geneva was nearly 15,650 euros in that quarter, about 2,000 euros higher than the second city in the ranking, Zurich. Cost of rent Rents across the major cities in Europe increased significantly in 2023. One of the main factors driving high rents across European cities is the same as any other consumer-driven business. If demand outweighs supply, prices will inflate. The drive for high paid professionals to be located centrally in prime locations, mixed with the low levels of available space, high land, and construction costs, all help keep rental prices increasing. Mortgage rates The average mortgage interest rates across Europe in 2023 were all under five percent, except in Czechia, Romania, Hungary, and Poland. On an individual level, a difference of one percent would most likely mean thousands of euros in interest on the mortgage a person is paying, making timing key in house purchasing. Mortgage interest rates tend to be lower in Nordic countries due to the financial stability and reliability of its borrowers. Other factors that influence the mortgage interest rates include inflation, economic growth, monetary policies, the bond market and the overall conditions of the housing market. More stable markets also tend to have higher average prices.

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2023. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 117.5 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

In 2021, Warszawa had the highest average price of real estate insurance among major cities in Poland, reaching almost 300 zloty.

The period from March to August 2020 saw noticeably weaker demand for home loans in Poland. This state results from the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Poland in March 2020. Whereas, January 2025 saw a dynamic increase in mortgage demand, with a demand growth of 36 percent year-on-year. The highest decline in the demand for housing loans was recorded in August 2022 due to the high inflation. One of the main reasons for the decline in demand was also tightening and rising interest rates that reduced the creditworthiness of potential borrowers. Loan market in Poland In 2023, the net value of loans to households in Poland was 702 billion zloty, representing a decrease of two percent over the previous year. In this period, in terms of credit type, the highest value was achieved by real estate loans granted to households. Their value amounted to over 422 billion zloty, followed by consumer loans with a total value of nearly 175 billion zloty. Mortgage loans in Poland In 2023, there has been a continuing trend of decreasing the popularity of housing loans up to 100,000 zloty. A growing number of Poles have taken out loans of the value of over 500,000 zloty. And the average value of a mortgage loan in 2023 increased by 25 percent compared to the previous year and amounted to nearly 408,000 zloty. In this period, Poland’s number of active mortgage loans also decreased, reaching nearly 2.4 million.

Hungary, Czechia, Poland, and Portugal were the countries in Europe where house prices increased the most between 2015 and 2024. The EMF house price index for all three countries measured more than 200 index points, indicating that home prices more than doubled since 2015 - the base year. Property prices are tightly connected with the supply of new homes. France, Poland, and Denmark are some of the countries with the most dwellings completed per 1,000 citizens in Europe.

In 2023, property taxes were the highest in most cities in Poland (Warszawa, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, Gdańsk, Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, Białystok, Olsztyn) at around 1.15 zloty per square meter, which is the maximum rate approved by the finance ministry.

In the first quarter of 2024, the United Arab Emirates, Poland, and Bulgaria registered the highest house price increase in real terms (adjusted for inflation). In the United Arab Emirates, house prices outgrew inflation by 16.17 percent. When comparing the nominal price change, which does not take inflation into consideration, the average house price growth was even higher. Nevertheless, many countries experienced declining prices, with Luxembourg recording the biggest decline, at nearly 14 percent. That has to do with a broader trend of a slowing global housing market.

The lowest home heating bills in Poland are paid by owners who heat their buildings with a ground-source heat pump. In 2024, the cost of heating with a ground-source heat pump ranged from 1,900 zloty to 3,500 zloty, depending on the type of building.

In the presented European countries, the homeownership rate extended from 42 percent in Switzerland to as much as 96 percent in Albania. Countries with more mature rental markets, such as France, Germany, the UK and Switzerland, tended to have a lower homeownership rate compared to the frontier countries, such as Lithuania or Slovakia. The share of house owners among the population of all 27 European countries has remained relatively stable over the past few years. Average cost of housing Countries with lower homeownership rates tend to have higher house prices. In 2023, the average transaction price for a house was notably higher in Western and Northern Europe than in Eastern and Southern Europe. In Austria - one of the most expensive European countries to buy a new dwelling in - the average price was three times higher than in Greece. Looking at house price growth, however, the most expensive markets recorded slower house price growth compared to the mid-priced markets. Housing supply With population numbers rising across Europe, the need for affordable housing continues. In 2023, European countries completed between one and six housing units per 1,000 citizens, with Ireland, Poland, and Denmark responsible heading the ranking. One of the major challenges for supplying the market with more affordable homes is the rising construction costs. In 2021 and 2022, housing construction costs escalated dramatically due to soaring inflation, which has had a significant effect on new supply.

In 2020, the average value of an outstanding home loan in Poland amounted to 204.6 thousand zloty, increasing by nearly 12 percent on the previous year.

It can be seen that industrial buildings in the category of basic warehouse and factory units had construction costs of 1.9 thousand zloty per square meter at that time, making these the cheapest industrial buildings to construct of the building types under observation.

 

 Building costs per square meter of internal area in Poland  

 

There is a constant increase in new office investments in Poland. The supply has been high recently, but the demand still seems to be unmet. This is reflected in the commissioning of new office buildings, especially in the largest cities in the country. The office construction costs oscillated in terms of the type of the building. Business parks had the lowest construction costs on the market.

For commercial real estate, shopping centers invariably remain the dominant format in the retail space market in Poland. Building costs per square meter of a large shopping centers and malls in Poland, amounted to over 3.6 thousand zloty in 2018. Saturation of the market in major agglomerations, visible changes in customers' behavior, and expectations influence changes in the planned supply of retail facilities. In the coming years, the supply will be affected by the increased demand for small shopping centers, retail parks, and multifunctional facilities.

 

 Average prices of apartments in Poland  

 

Rates dictated by sellers in Poland have broken records on both, the primary and the secondary markets. In January 2020, the average offer price of a new flat in Warsaw (excluding the area) approached 12 thousand zloty per square meter. The average prices of apartments in Warsaw on the primary market increased by 11 percent in 2019 year-on-year. Records were particularly strong for the smallest flats, up to 38 sq.m. Those looking for such space in Warsaw had to reckon with an average price exceeding 12 thousand zloty per sq.m. The situation on the secondary market and the rental market looked hardly better. Apartment prices are rising, and the situation related to the coronavirus epidemic had little impact on the price behavior on the Polish residential property market in the short term. In the long run, changes in credit conditions introduced by banks may have a final impact on demand, which will affect the price of apartments on the market.

In 2024, Poland, Bulgaria, and Russia exhibited the highest inflation-adjusted increase in house prices among the countries under observation. In the first quarter of the year, house prices in all three countries grew by over 10 percent in real terms, whereas globally, prices declined by one percent. The country with the highest price drop was Luxembourg, at almost 14 percent. France and Germany also experienced a notable decline in prices, at seven and eight percent, respectively. These figures are based on the development of the real house price index, with 2010 chosen as a baseline year. When looking at the long-term index development, Turkey observed the biggest increase in prices in the region. When looking at the average house price in the major European markets, Norway emerged as the country with the most expensive residential property. Meanwhile, cities such as Geneva, Zurich, and London had the highest average apartment prices.

In 2021, Latvians with a net monthly salary could buy the largest apartment size among the CEE countries, i.e., 0.81 square meters. In contrast, Belarusians could afford to buy 0.39 square meters of an apartment for a monthly salary. However, in many countries, the purchasing value has decreased due to significant increases in property prices in recent years, which was disproportionate to the growth in salaries.