In the second quarter of 2025, banks issued 15% more mortgage loans compared to the previous quarter and 22% more than in the same period a year earlier, according to the latest AMRON-SARFiN report on mortgage lending and property transaction prices. The value of loans granted in this period exceeded PLN 24 billion, marking a 29% year-on-year increase. At the same time, prospective buyers finally saw long-awaited declines in average transaction prices in some housing markets.
Mortgage Lending Accelerates After Stability
After four quarters of relative stability – a necessary pause following the disruption caused by the “Safe Loan 2%” program – mortgage activity picked up pace again in Q2 2025. Between April and June, banks in Poland issued 55,519 mortgage loans worth a total of over PLN 24 billion. The average value of a new mortgage loan also rose significantly, reaching PLN 443,000 by the end of June.
This systematic increase in the average loan value pushed the total value of outstanding mortgage portfolios above PLN 500 billion for the first time in four years, despite a continued decline in the number of active loans. By the end of Q2 2025, there were 2.176 million active mortgage agreements in Poland.
“Greater interest in taking out mortgages has been driven by slowing growth in housing prices, rising wages, and the National Bank of Poland’s May 7th, 2025 announcement of an interest rate cut. The first rate reduction since October 2023 lowered the reference rate from 5.75% to 5.25%, which significantly boosted creditworthiness, as reflected in AMRON’s Housing Affordability Index,” said Dr. Jacek Furga, Chairman of the ZBP Real Estate Financing Committee and President of CPBiI.
Risks Emerge Alongside Growth
Such a strong increase in lending activity has worsened two indicators of the quality of new loan portfolios. The share of mortgages with a loan-to-value (LtV) ratio above 80% rose by 1.56 percentage points to 28.25%. Another worrying signal is the extension of loan maturity periods: compared to Q2 2024, the share of loans with maturities between 25 and 35 years rose by 4.5 percentage points.
“Nevertheless, it is worth noting with satisfaction the continued decline in the share of non-performing loans in the overall mortgage portfolio, which fell to 1.47%. This downward trend has persisted since mid-2023,” commented Dr. Furga.
Developers See Weakening Investment Activity
The report also noted a continuation of the weakening investment climate among housing developers. In Q2 2025, developers delivered over 29,000 housing units – nearly 6% more than in the previous quarter, but just under 1% fewer than a year earlier. However, in key indicators of current market conditions – such as the number of building permits obtained and new construction starts – significant declines were observed.
Housing Prices Begin to Ease
For the first time in months, average housing transaction prices fell in several major cities in Q2 2025 compared to Q1 2025:
- Kraków: down 2.73%
- Warsaw: down 1.67%
- Poznań: down 1.27%
Other metropolitan areas saw only symbolic increases of below 1%, with the exception of Gdańsk, where prices rose 1.18%.
Rental Market Stabilizes
The private rental market also showed signs of stabilization. In Q2 2025, average rent levels rose between 1.5% and 2.5%, but annual increases – with the exception of Gdańsk and Łódź – did not exceed 5%.
Source: CEO.com.pl
