In the face of an ever-evolving real estate market, Poland is witnessing a substantial escalation in housing prices, often matching the highest in the European Union. This trend has continued unabated, with prices showing no signs of stabilizing.
According to the latest data released by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, home prices in the EU rose by 0.8 percent in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the second quarter of the same year. However, when compared to the third quarter of 2022, there was a 1 percent decline.
The dynamics of housing price increases varied across the EU. Poland experienced the fastest growth in the third quarter of 2023, compared to both the previous quarter and the same quarter of the previous year. In Q3, Poland saw a 4.5 percent increase in housing prices compared to the second quarter of 2023.
This significant jump in prices is likely linked to the government’s “Safe Credit 2 percent” program launched in July 2023. This housing program offered subsidies to those opting for mortgages, consequently boosting demand for housing and artificially inflating prices in Poland.
Only Romania recorded similarly high increases (3.4 percent) for the third quarter of 2023, followed by Bulgaria (2.7 percent), Spain (2.5 percent), and Lithuania (2.4 percent). Other countries did not even surpass the 2 percent mark. In some, housing prices even fell, most notably in Luxembourg (6.3 percent) and Finland (2.7 percent).
Poland also stands out for its year-over-year housing price increase.
In the third quarter of 2023, the most substantial rise compared to Q3 2022 was in Croatia, at nearly 11 percent. Poland followed closely with a 9.3 percent increase. Bulgaria (9.2 percent), Lithuania (8.7 percent), Portugal (7.6 percent), and Slovenia (5.7 percent) also saw notable increases. In contrast, Luxembourg and Germany experienced double-digit declines in housing prices, at 13.6 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively.
Real estate prices in Poland have been consistently rising for over a decade. This trend, however, is not unique to Poland but has been observed across the European Union. Since 2010, average real estate prices in the EU have surged by nearly 46 percent, with home prices increasing more than rental fees in 20 out of 27 EU countries.
Since 2010, the most dramatic increase was in Estonia (211 percent), followed by Hungary (180 percent), Lithuania (152 percent), Latvia (144 percent), the Czech Republic (122 percent), and both Luxembourg and Austria (120 percent each). Poland ranks roughly in the middle, with real estate prices rising by 75 percent.
Conversely, property price declines were only seen in three countries: Greece (14 percent), Italy (8 percent), and Cyprus (3 percent).
