Poland’s secondary housing market avoided the usual summer slowdown in August. Buyer demand for second-hand homes rose 9% year on year and reached 118,000 enquiries, according to Otodom data. Mortgage activity also remained stronger than a year earlier, although high monthly payments and limited credit capacity continue to prevent some prospective buyers from completing transactions.
The strongest increase in buyer activity was recorded in Lublin, where the number of enquiries rose 35% from a year earlier. Bydgoszcz followed with a 19% increase, while Poznań and Kielce each recorded growth of 15%. Warsaw was up 13% year on year.
Kraków was the only major market in the comparison to record a decline, with demand down 2%. The city also remains one of Poland’s most expensive housing markets, with average asking prices close to PLN 17,000 per square metre.
Prices remain relatively stable
The increase in demand has not yet translated into sharp month-on-month price movements. In August, average asking-price changes in the largest cities ranged from a 0.7% decline in Katowice to a 0.8% increase in Łódź.
In annual terms, the picture is more differentiated. Asking prices rose most strongly in the Tricity area and Poznań, by 5.2% and 4.6% respectively. Warsaw recorded a 2.7% increase, while Łódź, Katowice and Kraków saw only modest rises of around 1–2%.
Once inflation is taken into account, this suggests that real housing prices in some cities have broadly stabilised or even declined.
Mortgage demand is also higher than a year ago
Data from Poland’s Credit Information Bureau, BIK, point in the same direction. The number of people applying for a housing loan in August was 7% higher than a year earlier. The average requested loan value reached PLN 525,700, up 7.2% year on year.
Affordability nevertheless remains a major constraint. If an amount equal to the average requested mortgage were used entirely to purchase a home at average asking prices, it would correspond to roughly 42 square metres in Poznań and only about 28 square metres in Warsaw.
That comparison is illustrative rather than transactional, because asking prices differ from final sale prices and each city contains a wide range of properties. It does, however, show how strongly location affects the purchasing power of the same mortgage amount.
High instalments remain the main barrier
Research commissioned by Otodom shows that prospective buyers most often abandon the mortgage process because monthly instalments are too high relative to income. That reason was cited by 25% of respondents. Another 23% pointed to insufficient borrowing capacity.
Younger buyers are particularly cautious about taking on long-term debt. Separate research cited by Otodom found that nearly six in ten people aged 18–24 would consider a mortgage only if repayments did not force them to reduce their existing standard of living.
Autumn could bring further activity
The secondary market traditionally becomes more active in the autumn, and the unusually strong August figures suggest that this year’s seasonal rebound may already be under way.
Kielce is one market worth watching. Supply there increased 14% month on month while demand rose 15% year on year, a combination that could indicate a broader recovery extending beyond Poland’s largest cities.
For now, the main market signal is clear: buyer interest has strengthened, but financing costs and household affordability remain the decisive factors determining how much of that demand turns into completed transactions.
