The results from the first half of this year concerning new housing construction are the best in the last three years, according to data published by the Central Statistical Office (GUS). Entrepreneurs have started the construction of as much as 80.5 thousand units. The number of permits for new units also remains stable and high: developers have obtained over 102 thousand, which is 37 percent better than in the first half of last year.
Despite the fact that the sale of new apartments has been declining month by month since the beginning of the year, the statistics of new investments still showed the effects of the Safe Loan 2% program. The increased demand generated by the program encouraged builders to start a larger number of new projects.
According to data published by GUS, developers started the construction of as many as 80.5 thousand new apartments in the first half of the year, which is the best result in the last three years. The result from the first six months of this year only falls short of the one recorded in the first half of 2021, a period of almost zero percent interest rates and record sales levels.
The data perfectly reflects the delay with which developers are able to respond to the current market situation. The complicated process of preparing for investment does not allow construction to start overnight, which is why the optimism that the Safe Loan 2% program poured into the market was evident in the first half of this year.
The termination of the Safe Loan 2% meant a return to market rules for granting loans, resulting in limited access to mortgages. On the other hand, the low rental yield discourages investment buyers from buying apartments. These factors significantly contributed to the decline in sales in recent months.
Keeping in mind the visible reduction in demand, it can almost certainly be assumed that developers will approach new investments much more cautiously in the second half of the year. This means there is no chance of repeating such an excellent result of introductions as in the first half of the year – comments Patryk Kozierkiewicz, a lawyer at the Polish Association of Development Companies.
In the first half of the year, we observed a long-forecasted by the Polish Association of Development Companies, decline in new apartments ready for use. During the first six months of the year, 58.5 thousand premises were handed over for use, which is almost 10 percent worse than in the same period a year earlier.
The number of permits issued in the first half of the year gives reasons for optimism. Developers obtained over 102 thousand of them for new premises, a result 37 percent better than in the first half of 2023.
According to Patryk Kozierkiewicz, this is good news, considering that last year was the weakest for the industry since 2018 under this aspect. Obtaining new permits allows investors to prepare adequately for a time when interest in apartments will increase again.
Source: https://ceo.com.pl/deweloperzy-zwiekszyli-aktywnosc-55809
