Banks no longer believe in government subsidies. They introduce new rules
Some banks have stopped waiting for the government’s proposal related to subsidizing loans. In the face of falling transaction numbers, they are easing the terms of granting mortgages. Two groups of clients will benefit the most from a more liberal approach: singles and families without children.
In 2024, apartment sales slowed down significantly. Kraków and Warsaw recorded the largest sales declines — 27% and 19%, respectively, compared to the first quarter. These are the largest housing markets in Poland. Sales fell the slowest in Poznań and Łódź — by 10% and 7%, respectively, quarter-on-quarter. Only in the Tri-City did the number of apartments sold remain at a similar level to the first quarter, with a slight drop of 2%.
In August, over 3.6 thousand new apartments were put on the market – approximately 750 fewer than in July this year and 800 more than in August 2023. In August, developers sold approximately 2.8 thousand apartments in the seven largest cities in Poland.
Banks are easing credit conditions
The high prices and lack of subsidies for loans are responsible for this. It is completely different from a year ago: the prices were indeed even higher than now, but tens of thousands of people took advantage of government subsidies. Since everyone had a feeling that the “Safe 2% loan” would not last long, an assault on developers’ offices began, and second-hand apartments were also selling quickly.
Although we have been hearing for weeks that the government (or rather part of it) wants to introduce another subsidy program, firstly there is still no project, and secondly – it is known that there is not enough support for this idea. The fate of the “Startup Credit” is therefore uncertain, and most of those interested do not believe that it will be accepted.
Banks need to attract customers, so they are ready to loosen the rules of granting loans. Puls Biznesu writes about six banks that are reducing requirements for borrowers and three that have lowered interest rates on housing loans.
– The decision to buy real estate cannot be postponed indefinitely. Therefore, people who have been waiting from the beginning to buy a flat or a house until the start of the new program can now decide to buy real estate without public support – says Konrad Pluciński, mortgage market analyst at Rankomat, quoted by “PB”.
Apartments are getting smaller
Apartments are becoming more expensive, but at the same time they are becoming smaller. “The average usable area of a newly completed apartment was 90.2 square meters (in the first half of 2023 – 93.9 square meters). The average area of an apartment in single-family buildings was 131.9 square meters, while in multi-family buildings – 51.9 square meters,” the Central Statistical Office reported on Tuesday.
For comparison, a year ago it was 131.8 and 52 square meters, respectively. Over the last five years, the average area of new apartments has shrunk from 53.2 to 51.9 square meters, and of single-family houses — from 135.2 to 131.9 square meters.
