In most major cities, February saw an increase in the supply of second-hand apartments. However, in Kraków, Wrocław, and Poznań, the average price per square meter also rose. Meanwhile, in Warsaw, Łódź, and the cities of the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis, the average price declined, while in Tricity, it remained at the January level, according to data from GetHome.pl.
“In Kraków, the average price per square meter of apartments available on the secondary market increased by as much as 2% in February. This broke a six-month streak of price stagnation or even declines in the city,” says Marek Wielgo, an expert from GetHome.pl.
He explains that many relatively cheap apartments—by market standards—were sold in February, while newly listed properties were predominantly expensive. A similar trend is expected to occur more frequently. This may result from the Ministry of Development and Technology’s announcement to exclude the primary market from the new support program for home buyers using loans. “It may turn out that many potential buyers with sufficient creditworthiness will accelerate their purchasing decisions. The recent experience with the ‘2% Mortgage Loan’ showed that the introduction of subsidies can lead to price increases for the cheapest apartments. Moreover, sellers will likely try to adjust their prices to the expected limit of 10,000-11,000 PLN per square meter,” comments the GetHome.pl expert.
He points out that currently, there is such a large number of apartments available on both the primary and secondary markets that sellers have little justification for raising prices. According to data from the real estate portal search engine Adradar, the number of unique second-hand apartment listings in Warsaw increased from 17,900 at the beginning of the year to 21,100—an 18% rise. The supply situation in other major cities was similar. Adradar reports that in February alone, the number of secondary market apartments increased by 10% in Kraków (reaching 11,200 units), 9% in Łódź (6,200 units), 5% in Poznań (4,400 units), 4% in Katowice (2,500 units), and 2% in Wrocław (11,300 units). Only in Tricity did the number of available apartments decrease by 3% (to 9,400 units), although it still remains 7% higher than at the end of last year.
How did this affect the average price per square meter of all listed properties? Prices increased in Wrocław (to 14,500 PLN/m²) and Poznań (to 11,600 PLN/m²). Data from GetHome.pl suggests that the 1% increase in Wrocław was likely driven by the entry of higher-end apartments into the market, while in Poznań, the rise was more likely influenced by the clearance of cheaper units.
Conversely, in three metropolitan areas, the average price per square meter of used apartments decreased—by 3% in the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis (to approximately 8,500 PLN/m²) and by 1% in both Warsaw (to approximately 17,900 PLN/m²) and Łódź (8,600 PLN/m²). In Tricity, the average price remained unchanged at about 15,800 PLN/m².
It is noteworthy that over the past 12 months, only in Łódź has the average price per square meter of second-hand apartments increased more than that of new ones. Łódź has a high proportion of secondary market apartments in prefabricated blocks from the socialist era and old tenement houses. The rise in the average price per square meter there is largely due to the growing share of properties built after 1989.
Author: GetHome.pl
Source: ManagerPlus.pl
