Developers tried their hardest, but Poles still bought more apartments on the secondary market

In 2024, Poles were more likely to buy apartments from the secondary market than from developers – according to an analysis of the GetHome.pl portal based on the latest report of the Central Statistical Office “Real estate trade in 2024”. Used premises accounted for nearly 60% of all apartments sold, and their number was 148,000. – was 12% higher than a year earlier, which is most likely a record in the history of the Polish real estate market.

– It can be said that used apartments are back in favor with buyers – says Marek Wielgo, an expert at GetHome.pl. However, he points out that the share of the primary market would look more favorable if the Central Statistical Office took into account concluded development contracts and not only finalized notarial deeds. The published report by the Central Statistical Office shows that in 2024, a total of 255.3 thousand units changed hands. residential premises, i.e. 5% more than a year earlier.

The largest increase in the number of transactions concerned the secondary market, which recorded a strong rebound after two difficult years. In the pandemic year of 2020, sales of used apartments decreased by 11%, and in 2022 – due to the tightening of banks' lending policy – by another 17%. At the same time, at that time the primary market formally increased its share in the transaction structure, which was the result of developers finalizing contracts signed before the crisis. Despite this, sales of new apartments have been growing systematically over the last four years, regardless of the number of developer agreements concluded. However, 2024 brought a clear reversal of the trend – the primary market lost to the secondary market on a national scale.

Data from the Central Statistical Office show that the advantage of the secondary market was clear in as many as 14 voivodeships. Only in the Małopolskie and Podlaskie voivodeships were buyers more likely to choose new apartments. Significantly, even in regions with strong development markets, such as Masovia or Lower Silesia, customers in 2024 strongly preferred second-hand premises. Traditionally, the largest number of transactions on the secondary market was recorded in the largest cities – 15.7 thousand were sold in Warsaw used apartments, in Krakow about 6 thousand, and in Wrocław 5.9 thousand.

The key argument in favor of the secondary market remains of course the price. In 2024, buyers spent an average of PLN 536.3 thousand. PLN for the purchase of an apartment from a developer, while an apartment on the secondary market cost on average PLN 451.5 thousand. zloty.

Similar differences can be seen in the prices per square meter: new apartments cost on average approx. PLN 9.6 thousand. PLN per square meter, and used ones – approx. PLN 8.5 thousand. PLN per square meter. The median prices were PLN 8.9 thousand, respectively. and 7.5 thousand PLN per meter. In the vast majority of voivodeships, second-hand apartments are significantly cheaper. The only exception is the Masovian Voivodeship, where the average prices of new premises turned out to be lower than those of used ones. However, the GetHome.pl expert emphasizes that data based on notarial deeds may not fully reflect the realities of the primary market, because transactions are often finalized many months after signing the development contract, and during this time the prices of new apartments usually increase.

Marek Wielgo adds that the popularity of the secondary market also results from its specificity.

– It offers apartments in older housing estates with well-developed infrastructure and communication – comments an expert from the GetHome.pl website.

In his opinion, it is the location and access to public services that are often decisive for buyers. On the other hand, older buildings are more likely to lack elevators, have a limited number of parking spaces and have a lower technical standard. New apartments are superior in this respect, offering, among others: the possibility of individual settlement of heating, water and sewage costs, which is becoming more and more important in the era of high energy prices and rising operating fees.

Marek Wielgo, expert of the GetHome.pl portal

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