The beginning of the year traditionally brought a revival in the rental market, as seen in both supply and demand indicators. The number of rental apartment searches increased by 41% compared to December, and at the end of January, the available advertisement base was 15% larger than in the last days of 2024. The average offer price remained stable. The only city where the rates fell year-on-year is Warsaw.
Throughout the previous year, a decrease in demand in the rental market was noticeable, except for the holiday period (month to month on average by 3%). In January 2025, a resurgence in interest in rental properties was noted on a monthly basis. The number of searches amounted to 53,000, which is over 15,000 more than in December. According to data from Otodom, two-room properties recorded the highest search index (exactly 51%). This shows a consecutive shift of interest towards smaller areas.
January also brought about a change in the form of an increase in the number of advertisements, which was evident in 14 out of the 16 largest cities in Poland analysed by Otodom. By the end of the month, 24.1 thousand offers were available. The biggest rebound of supply compared to December was seen in Olsztyn and Katowice – by 54% and 20% respectively. Only Bydgoszcz (-2%) and Zielona Góra (-1%) recorded a reduction in the database.
“Last year there was a trend of a gradual decrease in the availability of rental properties, so even a slightly more noticeable revival than in previous years in January (14% m/m in 01.2024 ) might be surprising. Interestingly, the percent increase in the number of offers last month was identical both in relation to all 16 analysed locations and when considering only the seven largest cities in Poland. On such a selected market, there were 16 thousand listings available at the end of January. That’s over 66% of the entire database”, explains Milena Chełchowska, an analyst at Otodom.
Average Offer Prices in Place
Over the past year, prices on the rental market have risen month to month on average by 1%. In January you had to pay an average of 3.7 thousand PLN/month (+2% y/y) for a rental apartment. And that means another consecutive month with stable prices.
The price range in the largest Polish cities varied from 1997 PLN in Kielce to 5017 PLN in Warsaw. Interestingly, the capital is the only location where there was a decrease in average rates year-on-year (-1.9% compared to January 2024 and -1.5% compared to December 2024). The largest year-on-year increase was recorded in Zielona Góra by 16%. The current cost of renting an apartment there is on average 2542 zł.
On a monthly scale, prices fell in seven cities. Apart from mentioned Warsaw, these are: Katowice, Krakow, Olsztyn, Poznan, Rzeszow, and Szczecin. The biggest increase in the amount of rent can be seen in Opole (+3.2% m/m).
“You might have the impression that prices in January remained at a similar level to those of previous months. However, if we put this in the context of the continued inflation, this stabilization of nominal prices in reality means a real drop in rental rates”, adds Milena Chełchowska.
The Otodom analyst also notes that the increase in supply and the observed real decrease in prices may be the first signs of entering the correction phase.
“January not only brought a continuation of weakened demand, an increase in the database of rental property offers and a real drop in prices. It also brought an extension in the exposure time of listings (+6% on a monthly basis). The situation is further exacerbated by the simultaneous increase in supply in the developer market. Considering all these factors, it is possible that we are witnessing the beginning of an adjustment process and entering a correction phase. This can be particularly important for investors who have bought properties for rent in recent years, counting on the high dynamics of price and rent growth”, explains Milena Chełchowska.
Source: https://ceo.com.pl/styczen-z-duzymi-wzrostami-na-rynku-najmu-72542
