Variable-rate mortgages have become far less popular in Poland than they were just four or five years ago. But how does this compare with trends across Europe?
At the end of the previous decade, looking at the distribution of interest rate types in Polish mortgage statistics was almost boring — the “share of variable-rate loans” column always showed 99% or even 100%. As we know, that is no longer the case today. Analysts from the RynekPierwotny.pl property portal decided to compare Poland with other countries for which data from the European Mortgage Federation (EMF) is available.
The latest EMF statistics relate to Q1 2025, but as experts note, the lack of more current data is not a major issue — the structure of new mortgage sales typically doesn’t change dramatically from quarter to quarter.
According to the most recent EMF report, at the beginning of this year the share of new residential loans with a variable interest rate (fixed for no more than 12 months) was:
- Belgium – 2%
- Czech Republic – 13%
- Denmark – 30%
- Finland – 95% (data from Q2 2024 – no newer figures available)
- France – 3%
- Greece – 24%
- Spain – 9%
- Netherlands – 16%
- Germany – 12%
- Poland – 21%
- Portugal – 26%
- Romania – 29%
- Sweden – 78%
- Hungary – 20%
- United Kingdom – 7%
- Italy – 9%
Looking at historical trends, it’s clear that Poles are not the only ones turning away from floating-rate mortgage debt. In Italy, for example, variable-rate home loans accounted for nearly half of all mortgage sales as recently as early 2023. As the analysts at RynekPierwotny.pl note, however, it is important to understand that such mortgages can be structured very differently depending on the country.
In Finland, for example, borrowers can pay extra for a built-in monthly installment cap — an option selected by one in five homebuyers. This ensures that even with a variable interest rate, the monthly payment will not exceed a specified limit, offering additional protection against market volatility.
