The development of residential construction in Poland has been driven in recent months by two clear impulses. In March, the sharp rebound in the number of housing starts was driven by households. In April, property developers returned to construction sites with significant momentum. According to the latest data from Statistics Poland, developers launched the construction of more than 15,100 dwellings, an increase of 27.8% year on year. The situation is discussed by Katarzyna Kuniewicz, Director of Market Research at Otodom.
Key information:
A strong revival among property developers: in April, they started the construction of 15,100 dwellings, up 27.8% year on year.
A boom in residential building permits: since the beginning of the year, 95,000 permits have been issued, up 15.8% year on year.
A decline in completed dwellings: despite a wave of new investments, the number of units completed by all investor groups fell, by 3.7% year on year in April.
“March data suggested that the market was waking up, but April proves that we are not dealing with a one-off surge. All investor groups started the construction of 24,900 dwellings, improving on the previous month’s result by 8.7% and on last year’s figure by 24.3%. Property developers proved particularly active. The number of projects launched by them increased by 22.4% month on month. This is by far the best result recorded by this group so far this year. We can therefore clearly see that developers are quickly making up for a calmer start to the year,” explains Katarzyna Kuniewicz.
The construction market is returning to its 2024 form
The real surprise lies in the dynamics of residential building permits. According to Statistics Poland data, from January to April 2026, 95,000 such permits were issued across Poland, representing a 15.8% increase year on year. Interestingly, this result is very close to the level recorded in the corresponding period of 2024, when 94,800 permits were issued. Two groups — households and property developers — accounted for 98% of this year’s figure. Individual investors obtained official approvals for the construction of nearly 28,900 residential units, an increase of 11.6% year on year. Developers, in turn, secured more than 64,200 permits, up 22.5% year on year.
“In April alone, 27,500 residential building permits were issued, 43% more than a year earlier. However, it should be remembered that a high number of permits does not automatically translate into new construction starts. The gap between permits and projects actually launched remains at more than 20,700 dwellings, based on cumulative statistics since the beginning of the year,” adds Katarzyna Kuniewicz.
Could the market face a shortage of completed homes?
Against the backdrop of very optimistic data on housing starts and the growing pool of permits, statistics on dwellings completed by all investor groups remain slightly negative. According to Statistics Poland, more than 15,300 dwellings were completed in April, down 3.7% year on year. From January to April, a total of 60,600 units were delivered to the market, a result 2% lower than in the corresponding period of the previous year. However, this picture is softened by developers’ monthly performance. In April alone, they completed 9,700 units, clearly improving on their March result.
The number of dwellings completed in April 2026:
Property developers: 9,751 units, up 8.9% month on month and down 0.2% year on year.
Households: 5,483 units, down 13.2% month on month and down 8.0% year on year.
“The slight year-on-year decline in the number of dwellings completed is something that could have been expected. Today’s statistics on ready-to-use units are, in fact, an echo of investment decisions made by property developers several months ago. However, buyers certainly still have a wide choice. In the seven largest markets, developers currently have around 60,000 new apartments in their offer. In April alone, they put 4,300 units up for sale, 19% more than in March and 24% more than a year earlier,” says Otodom’s Director of Market Research.
Source: CEO.com.pl
