Poll: Who is buying apartments on the Polish market today?
What is the current profile of buyers of new apartments? How many among buyers are investors, and how many are buying for personal use? What is the biggest motivation for buying?
Tomasz Kaleta, director of the Sales Department, Develia S.A..
The difficult situation in the mortgage market has cut off credit customers from bank financing, so that cash purchases have dominated in recent months. In some periods it was as high as 80 percent of all transactions. Active in the market were, both investment clients and those purchasing larger apartments for their own needs, especially in more attractive, higher-priced locations. Large three- and four-room apartments account for about 50 percent of our sales.
The first quarter of this year brought no major changes in this regard, except for one - we saw a significant increase in the share of credit customers. While in 2022 they accounted for 25 percent of buyers, in March their percentage rose to 37 percent. The stabilization of interest rates and the announced government support program for First Apartment borrowers have made this group of buyers particularly active in recent weeks. However, this has not changed the structure of the apartments we sell.
Malgorzata Ostrowska, director of the Marketing and Sales Division at J.W. Construction Holding S.A.
The group investing in rental units is still dominant. The smallest number of apartment purchase transactions is carried out by buyers under 30 years of age. The lack of credit availability has mainly affected buyers from the youngest age segment, and this situation has not been improved by the government's Mieszkanie bez wkładu własnego program, which is practically unsuited to the market situation. Therefore, among apartment buyers, people between the ages of 30 and 50 dominate. The motivation to buy is the awareness that it won't get cheaper, but the most mobilizing factor is the melting offer of attractive apartments in good locations, such as in the Nad Odrą development in Szczecin or the Horizon estate in Gdansk.
Marcin Michalec, CEO of Okam
A key group of customers today is the so-called "small investor" who wants to invest their savings in real estate. This way of investing capital remains invariably one of the best rated and preferred. Real estate does not lose its value, it provides a steady income in the form of rent, the rates of which have increased significantly in recent years, especially in the largest Polish cities. For the individual customer, the motivation is, among other things, the desire to secure spare cash or fear of further increases in housing prices on the primary market. Often the customer also points to capital investment and improvement of living standards. Of course, among buyers of residential units there are also those customers who are looking for them for themselves and their families.
Eyal Keltsh, CEO of the Robyg Group
The situation in the residential real estate market is unique. On the one hand, we have very high demand from Ukrainian citizens, but also many customers from Poland who want to buy an apartment and are waiting for financing opportunities. On the other hand, the supply is reduced by the still too slow administrative procedures. However, it can be seen that the situation in the mortgage market has been improving since the beginning of 2023, as confirmed by BIK (Credit Information Bureau) data. More and more loan applications are being recorded compared to December 2022, and it can be assumed that this trend will continue to be positive in the coming months. In most banks, customers' creditworthiness has increased, allowing them to make more flexible decisions regarding the purchase of an apartment. Therefore, we can clearly see the growing interest of customers.
Andrzej Gutowski, president of Ronson Development
The situation in the real estate market is dynamic with a tendency for customers who support themselves with credit to increase purchases for their own housing needs. A stimulus for some of them - especially those with already accumulated capital - is the 2% Safe Credit program announced by the government. On the other hand, there is also still a very strongly stimulated group of investors who are looking primarily for two-room apartments and buy them with cash. They still dominate the market. With that said, the eventual popularity and success of the Safe Credit 2 percent program could bring these proportions closer to relative balance, and in the long run - at the end of this year and early next year - lead to an advantage for credit customers.
The state of limited supply in the market makes customers with capital realize that the entry of the government program will further deplete it, which could translate into further price increases. I think the expected increases are one of the key factors influencing the purchase of an apartment right now.
Mariola Żak, sales and marketing director at Aurec Home
The increased traffic in our sales office indicates that Poles are buying apartments from the primary market. Today's buyers are mostly people who last year held off on finalizing their purchase until the economic situation stabilized. Our observations show that apartment sales began to increase when the MPC once again did not raise interest rates, and the FSA introduced a reduction in the prudential buffer by calculating creditworthiness by banks from 5 percentage points to 2.5 percentage points, which enabled many people to get a loan to buy an apartment.
Certainly, government subsidies for the purchase of the first apartment, mainly the Safe Credit 2 percent option, have also done their part. We are already signing reservation or developer contracts, even though, taking advantage of the financing will only be possible from July 1 this year. What's more, today no one seems to be deluding themselves that real estate prices will start to fall, so an additional argument for accelerating the purchase may be the increase in housing prices in the future. On a quarterly basis, these increases already range from 3 percent in the Tri-City, Krakow and Poznan, to 5 percent in Warsaw, Wroclaw and Katowice, to 8 percent in Lodz. For many Poles or investors, it's more important to invest the money they've managed to accumulate so far than to lose through a drop in the purchasing power of money.
Susanna Należyta, commercial director at Eco Classic
At the moment there are about the same number of cash and credit buyers. However, these tend to be people in very good financial situations who are making investment purchases of small units or sizable apartments for their own needs. It is noticeable that customers have stopped believing in price drops and have moved to buy. Improved credit opportunities and the planned loan subsidy program are also not insignificant.
Justyna Hamrol-Wasielewska, sales director of Eiffage Immobilier Polska
Our customers are mainly investors who decide to buy in our investments because of the prestigious location and high standard of the projects. In the first quarter of this year, this buying group included mainly people who wanted to expand their investment portfolio with another property and those deciding to buy a unit with their children in mind. The turn of the first and second quarters brought a change in the structure of our customers, and now 50 percent of buyers are investors, and the other 50 percent are those financing the purchase of an apartment with a loan. The reason why credit customers have, so to speak, returned to the market and become active again is certainly the 2% Safe Credit program. Many people's creditworthiness has also increased, which has translated directly into their decision to buy a property.
Janusz Miller, director of sales and marketing at Home Invest
Since the beginning of the year, we have seen a dynamic increase in housing sales. There are many factors that have caused this situation. First of all, the accumulated demand, which was halted last year due to the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the increase of the UKNF buffer in calculating creditworthiness, has been released. There is now great optimism among buyers. First of all, the buffer in calculating creditworthiness has been lowered and the government has announced the 2% Safe Credit program. In addition, investors have rushed to buy as they have noticed price increases instead of decreases.
Wojciech Chotkowski, CEO of Aria Development
Customers are well aware of the situation on the real estate market in Poland. Due to the collapse of supply and the freezing of many projects, apartment prices are not falling. It seems that holding off on buying is unlikely to be a good strategy. In our developments, 80 percent of apartments are bought for own use, the rest - for investment and rent. The purchase is most motivated by price, greater access to credit and the realization that it won't get any cheaper.
Damian Tomasik, founder of Alter Investment
The purchase of an apartment can be afforded primarily by those with cash, and in this segment of customers purchases are made for investment purposes or as a second property for leisure purposes. As a result, demand is for properties located in central points of cities or places with high rental demand. Loosening access to credit is also increasing the volume of sales in locations far from the center, but ideally suited for a first apartment.
Source: The poll was prepared by the real estate website dompress.pl
Photo: River Point - Archicom
