After three consecutive months of decline, June brought an improvement in the mortgage borrowing capacity of singles and childless couples. As a result, the number of homes within reach of these households increased significantly, particularly in Poland’s most expensive metropolitan markets, according to an analysis by BIG DATA RynekPierwotny.pl and Rankomat.pl.
“June showed how strongly even a modest improvement in borrowing capacity can affect housing affordability. An increase of just several thousand to a dozen or so thousand złotys was enough for the number of homes available to average-income singles to rise by several dozen percent in some metropolitan areas. However, improved access to mortgage financing alone is not enough to stimulate demand,” said Marek Wielgo, an expert at property portal RynekPierwotny.pl.
Is This the Beginning of a Lasting Improvement?
The latest Rankomat.pl analysis, covering mortgage offers from nine banks, shows that borrowing capacity increased in June for two of the three model households examined.
An average-income single person earning approximately PLN 6,000 net per month could qualify for an average mortgage of PLN 429,600, 2% more than a month earlier.
The borrowing capacity of a childless couple with a combined net monthly income of PLN 8,000 rose from PLN 543,100 to PLN 550,100, an increase of 1%.
Only a family with one child and a net monthly income of PLN 10,000 saw a slight decline in borrowing capacity, from PLN 641,500 to PLN 636,900, down 1%.
Importantly, despite the correction seen in recent months, mortgage borrowing capacity remains significantly higher than it was a year ago. For singles, it was 14% higher than in June 2025. For two-person households, it was up 15%, while families with one child could borrow 12% more than a year earlier.
A Few Thousand Złotys Made a Major Difference
The increase in borrowing capacity quickly translated into improved access to homes offered by property developers. Singles benefited the most.
According to BIG DATA RynekPierwotny.pl, the number of homes affordable to people earning approximately PLN 6,000 net per month increased in June in every metropolitan area included in the analysis.
Łódź and the cities of the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis, or GZM, continued to offer the largest selection.
In Łódź, the number of homes within reach of this group rose from 5,200 to 5,800, an increase of 11%. In GZM, the figure increased from 4,800 to 5,200, up 9%.
In Poznań, the number of affordable homes rose from 1,700 to 1,800, an increase of 7%.
The number of homes available to singles in the Tricity area increased from 1,100 to 1,200, up 9%, while in Wrocław it rose from 1,000 to 1,100, an increase of 14%.
The most dramatic improvement, however, was recorded in Warsaw and Kraków, where the number of affordable homes rose by as much as 30%.
In Warsaw, the number of properties within the borrowing capacity of an average-income single increased from 700 to 900. In Kraków, it rose from 300 to 400.
“This was not solely the result of improved borrowing capacity. During the same period, more homes also came onto the market at prices within the budgets of average-income singles,” Wielgo noted.
Childless Couples Saw More Moderate Improvements
The improved borrowing capacity of childless couples led to either stable or higher numbers of affordable homes for households earning approximately PLN 8,000 net per month.
Łódź and GZM again offered the widest choice.
In Łódź, the number of homes available to this group increased from 8,100 to 8,300, up 3%. In GZM, it rose from 7,700 to 8,000, an increase of 4%.
In Warsaw, the number increased from 3,400 to 3,600 homes, while in Kraków it rose from 2,800 to 3,000, up 7%.
A slight increase was also recorded in the Tricity area, where the number of affordable homes rose from 2,700 to 2,800, an increase of 4%.
In Wrocław, the offer remained virtually unchanged at approximately 3,700 units.
Poznań was the only metropolitan market in which mortgage affordability for childless couples deteriorated. The number of homes available to this group declined slightly, from approximately 3,900 to just under 3,900, down 1%.
“Childless couples already had a relatively wide choice. That is why an additional few thousand złotys of borrowing capacity did not produce changes as dramatic as those seen among singles in Warsaw or Kraków,” Wielgo said.
Families with Children Faced a Smaller Selection
The situation was different for families with one child and a net monthly income of approximately PLN 10,000.
Because their borrowing capacity declined slightly in June, the number of homes within their reach also fell in most metropolitan areas.
GZM and Łódź continued to offer the largest selection, with approximately 9,100 homes available in each market in June.
In GZM, the number increased marginally by 1% during the month, while in Łódź it remained unchanged.
Declines dominated in the remaining metropolitan areas.
In Warsaw, the number of homes affordable to families fell from 6,500 to 6,300, down 4%.
In Wrocław, it declined from 5,900 to 5,600, a decrease of 5%.
Poznań recorded a fall from 5,300 to 5,100, down 4%, while Kraków saw a decline from 5,200 to 5,100, or 3%.
The number of homes within the budgets of families also fell in the Tricity area, where the offer contracted from approximately 4,000 to just under 4,000 units, down 1%.
More Mortgage Lending, but Fewer Homes Sold
Paradoxically, mortgage affordability improved significantly, but demand did not respond as developers might have hoped.
According to BIG DATA RynekPierwotny.pl, developers sold fewer homes in June than in the previous month in most of Poland’s largest housing markets.
In Warsaw, sales fell from approximately 1,500 to 1,400 units, down 9%.
In the Tricity area, they declined from around 560 to approximately 500 homes, a decrease of 11%.
In Wrocław, sales also fell from around 560 to 500, down 10%.
Poznań recorded the steepest decline, with sales falling from approximately 420 to 310 units, a drop of 26%.
Fewer homes were also sold in Łódź, where transaction numbers declined by 3%.
Kraków and GZM were the only markets to perform differently.
In Kraków, developers sold approximately 640 homes, 10% more than a month earlier. In GZM, sales jumped by as much as 40% to around 450 units.
At the same time, Warsaw, Kraków and GZM continued to record sales above their average monthly levels from 2025.
“It might seem that improved borrowing capacity and a larger number of homes within reach of average-income households should automatically translate into stronger sales. The June data do not confirm this,” Wielgo said.
“Refinancing now accounts for an increasingly large share of mortgage lending, as borrowers replace older loans with new ones carrying more favourable interest rates. This is compounded by concerns about the labour market. As a result, many potential buyers continue to postpone purchasing decisions despite improved housing affordability.”
Buyer Caution Remains the Main Barrier
Wielgo also noted that June brought a slight reduction in developers’ housing inventories in most metropolitan areas.
At the end of the month, developers in Warsaw had more than 17,100 homes on offer.
The Tricity market had 11,500 units available, Poznań 11,400 and Wrocław 11,100.
In Kraków, the offer stood at nearly 9,900 homes, while Łódź had approximately 8,800 units available.
“The problem today is not a shortage of homes or a lack of access to mortgage financing, but the caution of potential buyers. Whether housing sales recover will depend primarily on consumer sentiment,” Wielgo concluded.
