Polish Apartment Sales Surge, Despite Price concerns – But Affordability remains a Key Issue
Warsaw, poland – Apartment sales in Poland have reached a two-year high, driven by a complex interplay of economic factors including inflation, interest rate adjustments, investment trends, and government programs. While prices have risen, wages have increased at a faster rate, according to a recent analysis by Kamil Fejfer, an economic journalist and co-creator of the ”Economy and all the rest” podcast and YouTube channel.
The current situation stems from four years of overlapping economic shocks. Poland experienced inflation levels unseen in three decades, increasing the cost of housing construction – encompassing energy, materials, and labor. In response, the National Bank of Poland raised interest rates, limiting access to loans. Simultaneously,wealthy individuals invested heavily in apartments as a hedge against inflation,further straining supply.
the government’s “Safe Credit 2 percent” program, intended to stimulate the market, injected billions of zlotys into the system, contributing to price increases, as reported by Money.pl.
Fejfer notes that perception plays a significant role in how Poles view the housing market, with a tendency to focus on negative events.This is especially acute among young people migrating to major cities for education and employment, who frequently enough find homeownership unattainable.
“It seems to them that their own M has become an almost unattainable good,” Fejfer writes. “Indeed, many reports draw attention to the fact that young people finishing their studies and starting their careers have an extremely arduous time on this market.”
He argues that public policy should prioritize increasing housing availability, specifically through expanding student residences, perhaps implementing a cadastre to reduce investment returns on apartments (thereby curbing demand), and creating a pool of affordable rental properties to compete with the private market.
“Although the situation with apartments is slightly better than we might think based on posts on social media, it certainly does not mean that we should not increase the availability of premises for people who really need greater accessibility,” Fejfer concludes.
