Apartment owners have felt the slowdown in demand in the market firsthand. An extension of the sales time in 2024 was confirmed by the majority of real estate agents serving them, who participated in a study by Nieruchomosci-online.pl. In the case of larger apartments than single-room ones, such experiences were reported by 69% of respondents.
The Nieruchomosci-online.pl portal asked real estate agents from all over Poland how the lifespan of an apartment sale offer changed in 2024 compared to 2023.
In the case of single-room apartments, the majority of respondents answered that finding a buyer now takes longer – 45% of respondents hold this view. Meanwhile, 38% believe that there hasn’t been much change. The extension of sales time is more often felt in the case of larger apartments, 69% of agents have this experience. On the other hand, 20% see no difference. A small number of agents felt that offers for single-room apartments or larger ones are currently disappearing from the offer faster than last year.
The survey conducted by Nieruchomosci-online.pl shows that single-room apartments most often sell within 1 to 3 months (49% of surveyed agents reported this) and from 3 to 6 months (26%). Larger apartments, in turn, sell within 3 to 6 months (50%). In this case, lesser indicated transaction time ranged from 1 to 3 months (31%).
No support program, no crowd eager to buy
Rafał Bieńkowski from Nieruchomosci-online.pl says, “People planning to sell an apartment should bear in mind that it may be more time-consuming than in 2023. Last year, many properties were selling out immediately, offers could disappear literally a few days after publication, and this was due to demand fueled by the Secure Loan 2%.”
“From a seller’s perspective, 2023 was a very good time, but not from a buyer’s. A person searching for a property, given the scarce offer, had no time to think: either bought almost immediately or not at all. Consequently, many people acquired apartments that did not fully meet their needs. In 2024, the situation turned around, in part because there is no steroid in the form of a government support program. As a result, sellers have to fight more for a customer, and buyers have gained more time to make the right choice”, adds Bieńkowski.
The lack of a support program combined with persistent high apartment prices and increasing competition of offers (the number of advertisements has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the year) resulted in a slowdown in demand for apartments. This is also confirmed by information coming from the credit market.
Figures from the Credit Information Bureau show that in July 2024, 30.6 thousand potential borrowers applied for a housing loan compared to 43.4 thousand a year earlier. As expected, the demand for loans fell after the completion of applications for BK2%. BIK informs, “Despite fears, interest in housing loans has not fallen to the level before the launch of the program and is currently about 1/3 lower than in July last year.”
Selling a house often takes up to a year
In the case of single-family homes, most real estate agents answered that finding a buyer now takes longer than in 2023 – 57% of respondents are of this opinion. 32% believe there has been no change, while 11% think that the ads disappear from the offer even faster.
The mood survey by Nieruchomosci-online.pl shows that houses most often sell within 6 months to 1 year (as confirmed by 45% of respondents) and from 3 to 6 months (27%). Transactions above a year were indicated by 20% of agents.
In the category of building plots, there were also predominant opinions about elongation of the sales time, but not as clearly: 48% of people felt an extension of time, 40% a maintenance of time, and 12% its abbreviation. Selling a plot usually takes from 6 months to 1 year (42% of respondents) and from 3 to 6 months (32%).
Source: https://ceo.com.pl/chcesz-sprzedac-swoje-duze-mieszkanie-zajmie-to-dluzej-niz-rok-temu-bo-srednio-od-3-do-6-miesiecy-20136
