International real estate advisory firm Cushman & Wakefield has published its latest analysis of the Polish residential market, showing that the fourth quarter of 2025 brought a clear rebound in new apartment sales and a further increase in Polish households’ creditworthiness. Although asking prices continue to rise, their growth rate has slowed. Combined with record-low inflation and a series of interest rate cuts implemented over the past year, this has contributed to greater market stability.
Strong GDP Growth and a Record Number of Mortgage Inquiries
The residential market’s solid footing at the end of 2025 was underpinned by an acceleration in economic growth to 4% year-on-year — the strongest result since 2021. This robust performance, alongside a decline in inflation to 2.4% in December, created favorable conditions for monetary easing. The Monetary Policy Council reduced the main reference rate to 4.0%. At the same time, average gross wages increased by 8.6% year-on-year to PLN 9,583, improving access to financing for Polish households.
Borrowers have clearly returned to the market, driven largely by four interest rate cuts introduced in the final quarter of the year alone. This trend is evident in data from the Credit Information Bureau (BIK): in December 2025, the value of mortgage loan inquiries rose by 41.3% year-on-year. The average requested mortgage amount reached nearly PLN 488,000, marking an almost 10% annual increase.
Although asking prices are still rising, the pace of growth has slowed and is increasingly differentiated across cities. The highest quarterly increases were recorded in Warsaw and Wrocław, while Łódź remains the most affordable major market. In the near term, given the high supply of completed, move-in-ready apartments, further price stabilization is expected, comments Tadeusz Bellaby, Junior Research Analyst at Cushman & Wakefield.
Primary and Secondary Markets: Diverging Price Trends
On the primary market, the supply of developer-built apartments in December 2025 reached its highest level since 2022, totaling 62,100 units. Nominal prices remain highest in Warsaw (PLN 18,406 per sq m), Gdańsk (PLN 17,417 per sq m), and Kraków (PLN 16,704 per sq m). Notably, Gdańsk has maintained its position as Poland’s second most expensive market for two consecutive quarters, surpassing Kraków.
Developers completed 134,149 apartments in 2025, representing a 7% year-on-year increase, while the number of building permits issued exceeded 170,000 units.
The secondary market recorded a noticeable correction in asking prices in Q4 2025. While prices in Gdańsk and Warsaw increased by only 1–2% quarter-on-quarter, declines were recorded in Katowice (-2%), Łódź (-1%), and Wrocław (-1%). On an annual basis, the secondary market showed considerable variation — from a 6% increase in Gdańsk to declines in Wrocław (-2%) and in Warsaw and Kraków (both -1%).
In its analysis, Cushman & Wakefield uses data from the National Bank of Poland (NBP) and Otodom in a complementary manner, taking into account methodological differences between aggregated NBP data and Otodom’s real-time asking price data. Discrepancies between the two sources have been examined and do not affect the overall direction of the conclusions.
The largest differences relate to the primary market in major cities, where Otodom data indicate more varied asking price growth compared to NBP statistics — for example, Warsaw (+6% q/q according to Otodom vs. +2% q/q NBP), Wrocław (+5% q/q Otodom vs. 0% q/q NBP), and Gdańsk (+1% q/q Otodom vs. -1% q/q NBP). On the secondary market, discrepancies are significantly smaller and neutral with respect to overall price trend assessments.
Supply and Construction Pipeline: Developers Preparing for Records
Despite a year-on-year decline in new project launches, the development sector continues to demonstrate very high investment activity.
In 2025, construction began on 129,714 apartments intended for sale or rent. Although this represents a 15% decrease compared to 2024, it is still 13% higher than in 2023. At the same time, developers obtained permits for more than 170,000 units.
Importantly, the total number of apartments for which permits have been issued over the past five years has exceeded 950,000, with the five-year annual average remaining above 190,000 units. Current construction pipelines point toward record supply levels in the near future. The number of apartments started and scheduled for completion in 2026–2027 may result in historically high completion figures, comments Ewa Derlatka-Chilewicz, Head of Research at Cushman & Wakefield.
The scale of developers’ activity is best illustrated by the fact that over the past four years alone they have built more apartments in Poland than the entire housing stock of Kraków (466,000 units). By the end of 2025, Poland’s total housing stock exceeded 16.1 million units.
Poland on the European Rental Map
Poland stands out in Europe with one of the highest rental growth rates. The average five-year increase in rental rates reached 59%, significantly above the European average of around 28%. Despite this dynamic growth, rents in Central and Eastern Europe remain relatively low compared to Western European countries.
London ranks first, with rents averaging EUR 2,772 for a two-room apartment in the city center. Warsaw, with average rents of approximately EUR 1,045 (around PLN 4,400) in the city center and EUR 794 outside it, is close to the European average. The most affordable markets remain Riga and Bucharest, where apartments can be rented for less than EUR 600.
At the national level, Warsaw remains the most expensive rental market. The median rent for a studio apartment is approximately PLN 2,600, while a three-room apartment reaches around PLN 7,300. In newer buildings (constructed after 2010), the median rent for a three-room apartment in the capital already stands at PLN 8,000.
Record Consolidation and a New Balance of Power in the PRS Market
Poland’s institutional rental sector (PRS) has entered a phase of mature consolidation, with total operational stock in the largest cities exceeding 22,000 apartments by the end of 2025. Warsaw remains the undisputed leader, accounting for 38% of the country’s PRS stock, followed by Wrocław (18%) and Kraków (16%).
The key transaction of last year was the acquisition of a portfolio of 5,322 apartments from Resi4Rent by TAG Immobilien for approximately EUR 565 million. Following completion of the transaction, the Vantage Rent platform (TAG Immobilien) will account for 38% of Poland’s total PRS stock.
The PRS segment continues to expand steadily, gradually increasing the supply of rental units available on the market. In the coming years alone, it is expected to grow by another 20,000 apartments, with significant development potential still remaining. Growth in this sector could accelerate further, although much will depend on conditions in the for-sale housing market, developer activity — including potential increased engagement in rental projects — as well as the broader macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.
The sale of some completed PRS apartments to private buyers has significantly influenced the segment, which remains relatively small compared to the overall rental market, still dominated by individual landlords, concludes Karolina Furmańska, Associate, Living Sector, Cushman & Wakefield.
Source: Manager Plus
