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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Housing prices in Poland have fallen year-on-year on both the primary and secondary markets for the first time in over 12 years, new data from the National Bank of Poland (NBP) show. Previously, Poland had seen some of the fastest-rising property prices anywhere in Europe.
The NBP data show that, in the fourth quarter of 2025, average transaction prices per square metre in seven major cities dropped 0.8% year-on-year in the primary market, meaning for newly built properties, and 0.4% on the secondary market, for properties being resold.
That was the first time since 2014 that primary prices recorded an annual drop and the first time since 2016 for secondary prices. Both markets together have not seen a simultaneous decline since the second quarter of 2013.
For much of the period in between, prices rose dramatically in Poland, bolstered by the country’s rapidly growing economy and a popular state-backed mortgage subsidy scheme, as well as a lack of new supply. In 2023 and 2024, Poland recorded the EU’s largest increases in housing prices.
Na rynku pierwotnym spadły o 0,8% r/r, na rynku wtórnym o 0,4% r/r. To nie jest dużo, ale ostatnio spadki nominalnych cen mieszkań widzieliśmy przeszło dekadę temu. Jeśli ktoś szuka kwartału, w którym ceny na RP i RW spadły r/r, to musi cofnąć się do 2013 r. (!). pic.twitter.com/emBh7Sde8Y
— Analizy Pekao (@Pekao_Analizy) February 18, 2026
Analysts at Bank Pekao note that the recent decline was actually even more significant in terms of real, inflation-adjusted prices. In the second half of last year, housing prices fell by 3-3.5% year-on-year in real terms, while affordability – measured against wages – improved for a sixth consecutive quarter.
“The square footage of an apartment that can be purchased for the average salary…increased by 11-12% (depending on the market) and in the fourth quarter was the highest since 2018,” the analysts wrote.
They added that housing availability also depends on the availability and cost of credit. Taking these factors into account, they note only a slight improvement due to still-elevated interest rates compared with 2018-2019, but said they expected affordability to increase further as rates fall and lending standards ease.
According to the NBP data, in the fourth quarter of 2025, the average transaction price of new apartments in the seven large cities studied – Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, Gdańsk and Gdynia – stood at 14,251 zloty (€3,375) per square metre.
Prices were highest in Warsaw at 16,583 zloty per square metre, and lowest in Łódź at 9,708 zloty. Year-on-year, primary market prices fell the most in Łódź, down 2.9%, while Gdynia recorded the fastest growth at 11.9%.
On the secondary market, the average price in the seven cities was 13,479 zloty per square metre, including 16,750 zloty in Warsaw. The lowest secondary market price was again in Łódź, at 8,038 zloty per square metre.
In contrast to the primary market, secondary market prices fell fastest in Gdynia, down 5.9% year-on-year, while Lódź saw the strongest increase, also 5.9%.
Despite the drop in prices, Pekao’s analysts note that the problem of an undersupply of new properties still persists. They believe that prices will rebound and could be up 5% year-on-year by the end of 2026.
Poland recorded the largest increase in housing prices (19.3%) among all European countries last year, while Kraków had the biggest rise (28.1%) among cities.
Meanwhile, housing prices in Warsaw are now higher than in Rome, finds a new @Deloitte report https://t.co/Rt9GScX4Vx
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 2, 2025
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Hunter Scott/Unsplash
Alicja Ptak is deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She has written for Clean Energy Wire and The Times, and she hosts her own podcast, The Warsaw Wire, on Poland’s economy and energy sector. She previously worked for Reuters.
