Deloitte experts emphasize that the supply of apartments does not keep up with the demand, and the expected interest rate discounts will not compensate for the growing purchase costs. The situation is also aggravated by inflation, higher ecological and planning requirements, as well as the varied condition of labor markets. As a result, in many European metropolises in 2024, record offers were recorded with a decrease in the number of new premises.
Read also: She threw a job, sold a house and moved to Spain. “Best decision”
Prices of apartments in Europe and the Middle East. This is how Poland is
In few cities, average prices fall below 2.5 thousand. euro per sq m. The cheapest is in Turkey (905 euros/sq m in Ankara), Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania. In turn, to The most expensive markets include Luxembourg (8760 euros/sq m), Israel (6131 euros/sq m) and Great Britain (5203 euros/sq m).
The median prices among 75 analyzed cities amounted to EUR 3739/sq m. For comparison: In Tel Aviv, the average price reached almost 14 thousand. euro/sq m, in Luxembourg over 11,000, in Munich 10.8 thousand, and in Paris 10.76 thousand
Poland recorded the highest price increase in Europe – on average 19 percent. year on year. The average rate was 2792 euros/sq m, which still remains below the European average. Warsaw (3849 euro/sq m) and Kraków (3800 euros/sq m) approached Rome and are comparable to Budapest or Bratislava. Much cheaper than in Prague, where prices exceeded 6,000 euro/sq m.
Read also: The Polish economy accelerates. We got to know the latest GUS data about GDP
Situation on the rental market. The highest prices are still in Warsaw
Disproportion can also be seen on the lease market. Luxembourg (43.4 euros/sq m) remains the most expensive, and Paris and Dublin are also in the forefront. In Poland, the highest rents are paid in Warsaw – 17.9 euros/sq m, which places the capital in the European average, between Lisbon and Rome. In Krakow, Gdańsk and Wrocław, prices are lower, but they are rising rapidly. As Dominik Stojek from Deloitte notes, the differences between the capital and other large cities in Poland are much smaller than in Western European countries, where prices in metropolises can be several times higher than the national average.
Loan availability with a problem. In Poland twice as expensive
The report also analyzes the price availability indicator, i.e. the number of average salaries needed to buy a 70-meter apartment. In many countries, it grows faster than salaries. The most difficult for a flat in Amsterdam, Athens and Prague – there requires a purchase of over 15 years of salaries there. The best are, among others Turin and Odense, where the indicator is less than 5.
In Poland The most available apartments were in Katowice (7.1 years of salaries)a The worst in Warsaw (9.7). For comparison: In Budapest it is 11.4, in Bratislava 12.3, and in Prague as much as 15.
In terms of financing, The average interest rate on mortgage in the surveyed countries amounted to less than 4 percent. The cheapest was in Bulgaria and Croatia (below 3 percent), the most expensive in Hungary (9.35 percent). Poland took second place from the end with a result of 7.67 percent., which means twice higher costs than in the surveyed countries.
Construction and supply the biggest problem in the housing sector
However, the falling supply remains the biggest problem. In more than half of the analyzed countries in 2024, the number of devoted apartments was lower than a year earlier. The largest declines were recorded in Finland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Poland, despite a 9.3 % decline, is still at the forefront-from almost 200,000. New apartments took fourth place in Europe (after Turkey, France and Germany). Calculated per 1000 inhabitants, this gives the third highest result. However, in the largest cities, such as Warsaw or Wrocław, the pace of the investment has fallen strongly – 37 and 45 percent respectively.
