Are you buying a flat? From today you will see all costs on the web
From today, developers must reveal the prices of apartments and houses, including additional costs and the history of changes. This is a revolution for real estate buyers.
On Thursday, September 11, the provisions obliging all developers to publish the prices of apartments and houses on offer entered into force. The amendment to the Act on the protection of the rights of the buyer of the premises and on the Developer Guarantee Fund extended the obligation, which from July concerned only investments starting sales after this date. Now it covers all properties, regardless of the start of sales.
New recipes
Pursuant to the Act, developers must disclose the price of a square meter of usable space, as well as the cost of additional rooms, such as storage rooms or parking spaces. It is also mandatory to indicate all additional fees incurred by the buyer and present the history of price changes for a given premises.
This information must be easily available on the website of developers and clearly related to a specific investment. It is not enough to publish in advertising portals or by intermediaries – the regulations require them to be directly on the websites of companies.
The Polish Association of Development Companies (PZFD) points out that some developers have already used such practices. “Buyers value transparency, and uniform rules from September 11 will facilitate comparing offers and making informed decisions,” emphasizes Przemysław Ziąg, deputy general director of PZFD.
Change of strategy
New regulations can change the sales strategies of companies. Until now, many developers have attracted customers with promotions and discounts. According to PZFD, the publication of real price lists may lead some of them to discounts, which will affect the average offer rates. On the other hand, high penalties for non -compliance with regulations can lead to the opposite effect – price increases treated as a safety buffer.
Developers must also transfer data in the form of open files to the government portal Dane.gov.pl, which is to become a central source of information about real estate prices. According to PZFD, the current operation of the portal was complicated and requires clarification. The organization has prepared reporting guidelines together with the department of digitization, but it is still expected to implement uniform standards.
