Developers are dealing the cards today. Apartment owners have a problem

Although credit conditions are better today than a year ago, the second-hand apartment market has not entered the phase of significant price increases. The latest data shows that in most large cities prices remain stable and buyers are becoming more cautious in their decisions.

Experts indicate that the secondary market is increasingly influenced by the huge offer of developers, which effectively limits the ability of owners of used apartments to raise prices.

– On the one hand, credit conditions are better today than a year ago, but on the other hand, economic uncertainty is growing, related to, among others, Due to the tense situation in the Middle East, concerns about loan costs in the longer term persist, and buyers are increasingly adopting a waiting strategy and extending the decision-making process – explains Marek Wielgo, an expert at GetHome.pl.

April brought a clear slowdown

Data from the real estate portal search engine Adradar show that approximately 33,000 properties disappeared from advertising websites in April. apartment offers from the secondary market. This is a result of 7 percent. weaker than in March and by as much as 37%. lower than the year before.

However, GetHome.pl experts emphasize that this does not necessarily mean that the market situation is deteriorating. According to Marek Wielgo, the secondary market has been subject to significant seasonality for years, and after an intense start to the year there is often a temporary calm down.

– However, this decline should not be interpreted as a signal of a deterioration in the economic situation. The secondary market is characterized by clear seasonality – after the winter revival, which usually begins in January and February, in April there is often a short-term slowdown in buyer activity – explains Marek Wielgo.

According to the expert, only the next few weeks will show whether buyers will return to the market with greater activity after the end of the holiday season.

Apartment prices increasingly depend on the city

April’s data show that the secondary market has stopped moving at one rhythm. In some cities, apartment prices increased slightly, in others they remained stable, and in some places they even decreased.

The largest monthly increases in average prices per square meter were recorded in:

• Warsaw – approx. 18.2 thousand PLN/sq m,

• Tricity – approx. 17 thousand PLN/sq m,

• Katowice – approx. 11.7 thousand PLN/sq m

Prices remained stable in Kraków, Poznań and Łódź. The largest correction was recorded in Wrocław, where the average price of used apartments dropped by about 4% month on month.

– It is increasingly clear that the prices of second-hand apartments have stopped growing at one pace throughout the country. Today, everything is determined by local factors: the structure of supply, competition from the primary market and the real purchasing power of buyers in a given city – says Marek Wielgo.

Developers are cooling down the secondary market

Experts from the GetHome.pl portal point out that the key element stabilizing the used apartments market is the huge offer of developers. In the largest cities, the number of new apartments available from developer companies now exceeds the offer of the secondary market.

– In April, in all analyzed metropolises, the number of premises offered by developers was greater than the number of second-hand apartments available for sale – notes Wielgo.

This is particularly visible in Warsaw and Kraków. In the capital, developers offered approximately 16.4 thousand sq m. apartments compared to 15.6 thousand premises from the secondary market. A similar situation also occurs in Wrocław, Poznań, Łódź and Katowice.

Nowadays, buyers increasingly often compare offers from both market segments and analyze prices, apartment standards and financing conditions more closely. Developers tempt with promotions and additional incentives, which limits the ability of owners of used apartments to quickly raise prices.

– This relationship works in two directions. Price pressure on the secondary market also affects developers’ caution in shaping prices and decisions about launching new supply – emphasizes the GetHome.pl expert.

The offer of apartments is still smaller than a year ago

In April, the inflow of new offers was weaker than in March, and the total number of apartments for sale has still not returned to last year’s levels. The biggest declines are visible in:

• Wrocław – offer lower by approx. 24%. year to year,

• Kraków – decrease by approx. 19 percent,

• Warsaw – a decrease of approx. 18%,

• Łódź – a decrease of approx. 16%.

The exception is Tricity, where there was a slight increase in the number of offers month to month, although the market there also remains smaller than a year ago.

– Even if prices have stopped rising, the potential for upward pressure is increasing because the offer of second-hand apartments is smaller today than a year ago. The following months and the relationship between the pace of sales and the scale of new supply – both on the secondary and primary markets – will decide whether this will translate into permanent price changes – summarizes Wielgo.