Ukrainians, Belarusians and Russians buy “wholesale” apartments in Poland. “Because they can”
Countries neighboring Russia and Belarus, for the sake of their own security, limit or even prohibit the sale of real estate for citizens of these countries. Meanwhile, in Poland, despite Russian aggression in Ukraine, there are more purchases made by Belarusians and Russians – determined the portal Gethome.pl.
– Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and even Norway conduct or plan to introduce a very restrictive policy towards the Russians in the purchase of land and apartments. However, our housing market still remains almost completely open to foreigners, including citizens of Russia and Belarus – explains Marek Wielgo, an expert from Gethome.pl.
And he adds that in Poland the permission of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration (Ministry of Interior and Administration) is required only when the purchase of land and apartments in the border zone. This restriction includes, among others Tri -City, Szczecin, Świnoujście or Zakopane. Of course, it does not apply to European Union citizens, which allows the Russians and Belarusians to be bypassed by the EU passport.
However, it is Ukrainian citizens that still buy the most apartments in our country. This trend has been living invariably since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. In subsequent years, Ukrainian citizens became the largest group of buyers buyers with a foreign passport. Especially after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Ministry of Interior and Administration recorded a rapid increase in transactions with the participation of Ukrainians. In 2024, they purchased nearly 8.8 thousand without permission. apartments (28% more year -on -year), and in the border zone they received permission to buy 304 premises (the Ministry of Interior and Administration does not specify how much of the residential and usable nature of them). In addition, Ukrainians bought 1009 plots intended for the construction of houses – a total of 50.4 ha. At the same time, over 250,000 could have been made throughout the Polish market, in the same period. housing transactions.
– Although there is still a huge number of refugees from Ukraine in Poland, the current scale of their purchases is not surprising. It is natural that people planning to stay for longer want to invest in their own housing, especially in large cities offering stable work and higher earnings. However, the costs of purchasing a flat in metropolises can be very high, and mortgage loans are still expensive – comments Marek Wielgo.
It also draws attention to surprisingly high, as much as 51% increase in purchases of real estate by Belarusians. This is currently the fastest growing group of foreigners buying apartments in Poland. According to data from the Ministry of Interior and Administration, in 2024, citizens of Belarus acquired over 2.9 thousand. apartments, and in the border zone they obtained permission to buy another 168 premises (residential and utility). They also made 303 transactions regarding plots with a total area of 11.7 ha (on average slightly below 400 sq m per plot).
A small, but positive ratio of shopping growth among Russians, especially since in 2023, a 15 % decrease in such transactions was considered as an even greater surprise, which could have been suggested by a further discount trend. Meanwhile, as the data for 2024 indicate, Russian citizens bought 368 apartments without permission, i.e. 4% more than a year ago. It is worth noting that in the last two years they have not obtained a single consent to buy an apartment or plot in the border zone. Interestingly, the Russians acquire more apartments on the Vistula than, for example, the Chinese (161), Hindus (221), Turks (153) and Vietnamese (107), although these nations seem more numerous in our country.
The latest report of the Ministry of Interior and Administration also shows that Russia's assault to Ukraine only briefly cooled the interest of foreigners in the Polish real estate market. In 2024 they bought over 17.3 thousand. apartments and over 3.2 thousand commercial premises. In the first category of the Ministry of Interior and Administration recorded an increase of 21%, while in the second – 27%compared to the previous year in which the number of transactions regarding commercial premises decreased by 17%.
It is also clear that foreigners most often invest in the largest cities:
- Warsaw,
- Krakow,
- Wrocław,
- Łódź,
- Poznań,
- Gdańsk.
While in Krakow last year there was a decrease in transactions by 5% (up to about 1.5 thousand premises), in Łódź as much as 46% increase (over 800 apartments) occurred in Łódź, and in Warsaw – 22% (exceeding 3,500 premises). In turn, Poznań recorded an increase of 20%, Wrocław – 19%, and Gdańsk – 6%.
In terms of area, Ukrainians bought more apartments than citizens of all other 117 countries in the Ministry of Interior and Administration, including Belarus, Germany, Russia, Italy, India, France, China, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Turkey. Last year, the greatest increase in appetite for flatswho began to buy them from us in 2005, i.e. after our country joined the EU. However, for six years they have been doing it boldly, e.g. in 2024, India citizens bought flats with a total area of 13.1 thousand. square meters, which is an increase of as much as 28% compared to the previous year and provided a place in the top ten nationalities purchasing the most premises from us.
Marek Wielgo, expert of the Gethome.pl portal
