Does the growing availability of completed new apartments attract buyers who would otherwise choose the secondary market? Is a broader range of ready-to-move-in developer projects changing the balance of power in the housing market? In which cities is this trend most visible? These questions were explored in a survey prepared by the property portal dompress.pl.
Tomasz Kaleta, Managing Director for Sales and Marketing at Develia
For many buyers, the possibility of moving into an apartment quickly has become one of the key expectations. Increasingly, people who until recently considered only the secondary market are choosing apartments from developers because they can collect the keys almost immediately or within a short period of time. As a result, the primary market, especially in the segment of completed units, is attracting some customers away from the resale market.
Additional advantages of new apartments include higher energy standards, modern common areas, recreational zones and lower operating costs. Many customers also value the opportunity to arrange the space from scratch and avoid the need for costly renovation work.
A large number of completed apartments in developers’ portfolios effectively attracts customers and supports sales. This is particularly visible in cities such as Łódź and Katowice, where we are currently seeing the highest share of completed apartments or units with very short handover dates. Compared with recent years, these markets are recording very high sales levels.
The smallest supply of ready-to-move-in apartments is available in Warsaw, where demand still clearly exceeds supply.
Currently, completed apartments account for around 20% of developers’ offer across Poland’s largest housing markets on average, although the differences between cities are substantial. In our projects, the share of ready apartments remains relatively low and currently does not exceed 9%, partly due to a well-matched product offering.
Mariusz Gajżewski, Head of Sales, Marketing and Communication at BPI Real Estate Poland
In recent months, we have indeed seen growing interest in ready apartments in completed projects such as Chmielna Duo in Warsaw and Cavallia in Poznań. For many customers, the ability to take possession of a property quickly and avoid waiting several years for construction to finish is now of key importance.
Buyers also appreciate the opportunity to see the completed product and assess the quality of workmanship before making a purchasing decision.
Customers are increasingly comparing not only the purchase price, but also living comfort and future property maintenance costs. This is why the primary market is gaining an advantage in this area, mainly thanks to higher energy standards, modern functional solutions and lower operating costs.
Andrzej Gutowski, Sales Director at Ronson Development
From a market perspective, we see the transfer of customers from the secondary market to the primary market as a completely natural phenomenon, although its scale depends on the specific location and available offer.
Recently, in some local markets, such as Szczecin, we have observed a clearer flow of customers from the resale market towards new developments. The key factor is the availability of completed apartments or units with handover dates in the near future.
This transfer usually concerns larger apartments, which tend to remain available for slightly longer at the final stage of sales. We are seeing a similar trend in the single-family home segment.
However, I would not say that the primary market is directly “taking” customers from the secondary market. Rather, it is effectively responding to the needs of buyers looking for a ready product, modern standards and a predictable purchasing process.
Across our entire portfolio, the share of unsold apartments is currently very low, at below 10%.
Agnieszka Majkusiak, General Director for Sales and Marketing at Atal
Customers considering the purchase of an apartment generally have clearly defined expectations. Their decision to buy a home in a new development is influenced by many factors, while the availability of a large number of completed apartments is only one of them.
More important are individual preferences regarding the comfort and aesthetics of the estate, the possibility of purchasing a parking space and good energy performance. Customers pay attention to operating costs, which in older buildings are increasingly disproportionate to the level of quality and comfort offered.
Another advantage of the primary market is the ability to arrange an apartment according to one’s own needs. Secondary-market properties rarely match a buyer’s taste perfectly, and buyers must factor in the cost of modernisation and redesign. The same funds can instead be used to finish a new apartment in their own style.
We currently have an attractive portfolio of completed projects in Poland’s largest metropolitan areas. We can see that a larger supply of ready apartments significantly improves sales potential and represents an important advantage in attracting customers.
It increases buyers’ awareness of the available choices and allows for a more comprehensive presentation not only of the apartments and their standards, but also of the quality of common areas and outdoor spaces.
Grzegorz Smoliński, Member of the Management Board at Dom Development
In Dom Development’s offer, the share of completed apartments is very low, especially compared with the wider industry. Therefore, we do not observe any noticeable transfer of customers from the secondary market.
Although this segment appeals to buyers through the possibility of moving in shortly after purchase, our customers are willing to wait for their dream apartment because they want a high-quality product. We guarantee a standard distinguished by modern solutions, energy efficiency and functional apartment layouts.
Tomasz Stoga, CEO of Profit Development
In recent months, we have indeed observed growing interest in completed apartments or units that are at a very advanced stage of construction. Customers no longer want to wait two or three years for handover, particularly when a purchase is linked to moving home, expanding a family or changing jobs.
As a result, some people who only a few years ago would automatically turn to the secondary market are now once again considering the primary market. The key advantage of new apartments is the ability to move into a property that meets current energy, technical and functional standards.
At Profit Development, we are seeing the greatest interest in completed apartments or units nearing completion in Wrocław, Warsaw and Łódź. Customers increasingly choose a new apartment instead of an older secondary-market property that requires expensive renovation.
Joanna Chojecka, Sales and Marketing Director for Warsaw, Wrocław and Łódź at the Robyg Group
We are observing a clear increase in interest in completed apartments and units with short handover dates. For many customers, avoiding a long wait for the keys is crucial today, especially in the context of high rental and mortgage costs.
As a result, some people who until recently considered only the secondary market are deciding to buy a new apartment. Customers appreciate the higher energy standard of buildings, modern apartment layouts, on-site infrastructure and the lack of need for costly renovation work.
Projects with completed apartments or handover dates within a few months are currently attracting strong interest. This is particularly visible in large cities, where customers expect to move quickly and want greater certainty about future costs.
Witold Kikolski, Member of the Management Board at MS Waryński Development S.A.
We are definitely seeing greater interest in apartments with handover dates approaching soon. Customers are increasingly unwilling to wait several years to collect the keys, and they compare the secondary market with new construction, especially when the prospect of moving in is close and a new apartment does not require additional renovation expenses.
In the Stacja Ligocka project in Katowice, developed by the Waryński Group, we have observed a clearly higher level of customer interest as the project completion date approaches. For many buyers, it is important to know that they will be able to collect the keys and move in within a relatively short period of time.
Zuzanna Należyta, Commercial Director at Eco Classic
We have not noticed any significant change. There is a group of customers who want to buy exclusively on the primary market, another group who are looking only on the secondary market, and a third group for whom the distinction does not matter.
Joanna Macierzyńska, Sales Director at Archicom
We do not observe a clear phenomenon of customers “moving” from the secondary market to the primary market. In practice, many people now analyse both segments simultaneously and compare available offers in terms of price, standard, location and handover date.
At Archicom, we pursue a strategy of selling around 80% of apartments before construction is completed and the remaining 20% within several months after the project is handed over for use. As a result, our offer continuously includes both apartments at earlier stages of development and ready units or apartments with very short handover dates.
Completed apartments, especially turnkey units, offer an important advantage for some customers. They make it possible to move in almost immediately or begin renting out the property without waiting for construction to finish or managing the fit-out process.
This is particularly attractive to people who value time or want to limit their involvement in organising apartment finishing work.
Compared with the secondary market, buyers also receive all the benefits associated with new developments: modern technological solutions, higher energy standards, contemporary estate infrastructure and guarantees connected with buying a new property.
For this reason, completed apartments in developer projects are an attractive alternative to secondary-market offers for many customers.
Damian Tomasik, CEO of Alter Investment
As a land developer, we are currently observing a clear change among residential developers, who are increasingly looking for projects with short delivery horizons or projects ready for rapid launch.
This is partly because end customers are far less willing to accept several years of waiting for an apartment than they were just a few years ago.
The primary market has indeed become more competitive towards the secondary market because some developments now offer completed units or apartments with very short handover dates. This also affects developers’ decisions regarding land purchases and the preparation of new projects.
Plots and projects that enable construction to begin quickly and allow a product to be delivered to the market in a relatively short time are becoming increasingly valuable.
From our perspective, it is particularly important that developers are increasingly looking for land where the “homework has already been done” — sites that are formally prepared, have a clear development direction and allow for an efficient transition into construction.
In the current market environment, time is becoming one of the key elements of competitive advantage. We see this especially in urban projects in the Tri-City area, where well-prepared investments with a shorter time to market are clearly more attractive today, both for developers and end customers.
Andrzej Swoboda, Vice-President of the Management Board at CTE Group
Under current market conditions, we are clearly seeing growing interest in completed apartments on the primary market. Until recently, one of the main arguments in favour of the secondary market was the possibility of taking possession of a property quickly and avoiding a long wait for construction to be completed.
Today, this advantage is becoming less pronounced in many cases, as developers are offering an increasing number of completed apartments or units with very short handover dates.
As a result, some customers who previously automatically focused on the secondary market are now considering the purchase of a new apartment. For buyers, the combination of quick availability and the standards offered by new construction — including energy efficiency and modern apartment layouts — is important.
This means that the primary market is indeed taking some customers away from the secondary market.
We are also seeing this trend in our own projects, particularly where completed apartments are available. Customers looking for properties available immediately often choose units in the Apartamenty Świeradowska and Osiedle Bakaliowe developments.
As the availability of completed apartments declines, we are also seeing a faster pace of purchasing decisions. Customers are aware that the offer is limited and are more likely to finalise a purchase after their first meetings or apartment viewings.
