How much credit and housing can a single person, a couple, or a family with a child afford?

The analysis assumes that the average earning 30-year-old single person is one whose net salary, or “take-home” salary, is PLN 6,000. In the case of a childless 30-year-old couple, the earnings taken into account were PLN 8,000, and a married couple aged 35 with a child – PLN 10,000. Importantly, the young people have an employment contract for an indefinite period. Additionally, having previously lived with their parents, they managed to save their own contribution to cover 20% of the costs of buying a flat. They also do not have any credit obligations that would reduce their creditworthiness.

Home Loans

July brought a clear revival on the housing loan market, as evidenced by the increase in the number of submitted loan applications. The Credit Information Bureau (BIK) reported that banks received 30.6 thousand of them, which is 11 percent more than a month earlier. Of course, comparing with the same period last year makes no sense, because then the banks started offering “Safe Credit 2%”, for which a long queue of people started to form.

– This July revival may be the result of a significant increase in the creditworthiness of average-earning couples, both with and without children. Unfortunately, banks are willing to lend smaller and smaller amounts to average-earning singles –comments Konrad Pluciński, an expert from Rankomat, who analyzed the offers of the 10 largest banks.

In July, a single person could count on an average of PLN 375.2 thousand in a loan to purchase a flat (nearly PLN 4 thousand less than in June), a childless couple – PLN 486.9 thousand (nearly PLN 1.5 thousand more), and a couple with a child – PLN 584.2 thousand (over PLN 10.5 thousand more).

In July, Rankomat.pl noted stricter creditworthiness assessment criteria in five banks: Alior Bank, Velo Bank, Bank PKO BP, Bank Millennium and ING. In turn, Pekao, Santander Bank Polska and Credit Agricole turned on the credit tap by offering higher amounts of housing loans. Our July ranking does not include Bank Ochrony Środowiska. It was replaced by Bank Citi Handlowy.

It is worth noting the traditionally huge differences in the way individual banks calculate their creditworthiness. For example, in the case of a two-person household with a net income of PLN 8,000, the difference between the first and last bank in the ranking was over PLN 204,000 in July. The problem is that the banks offering the largest amounts are not always the cheapest, which is why proper market research and selection of the right offer are very important.

Prices of new apartments

According to BIG DATA RynekPierwotny.pl – in July this year, in most metropolises, the number of apartments available from developers increased (the exceptions were Tricity and Poznań). They introduced more apartments to the market than sold. The increasing competition forced some companies to reduce prices, e.g. in the form of discounts of several percent or freebies such as a storage room or a space in the garage.

The situation in Warsaw and Krakow is particularly optimistic. Developers there have finally started to introduce more apartments in the popular segment to the market. As a result, the growth of the average price per square meter of new apartments has been halted.

– In Warsaw, July was the fourth month this year in which the average remained practically unchanged, while in Kraków it dropped by 1%, which has not happened in this city for 2.5 years. What’s more, Kraków and Warsaw developers were the only ones who could boast an increase in apartment sales in July compared to June – says Marek Wielgo, an expert from the Rynek Pierwotny portal.

In other metropolises, however, July brought a drop in sales. The cheapest premises were the first to disappear from the market, so where developers failed to provide an adequate pool in the popular segment, the average price per square meter skyrocketed. This phenomenon occurred in Wrocław, the Tri-City and Łódź, among others. Although developers increased the new supply of apartments in the capital of Lower Silesia, they addressed it mainly to wealthy clients. As a result, the average price of apartments per square meter increased by 2 percent.

What choice of new apartments?

The availability of apartments should not be assessed solely through the prism of earnings, and as a result, creditworthiness and the average price per square meter. Choosing apartments within the budget of the average borrower is also important. It is therefore worth checking whether and what kind of apartment can be purchased in a given city by “average” households. At the same time, it should be noted that thanks to the own contribution, the amount for the purchase of the apartment at their disposal is higher. For simplicity, it was assumed that all transaction costs are included in this amount. In addition, the parents promised the young borrowers help in the possible finishing and furnishing of the apartment.

According to the analysis of the RynekPierwotny.pl portal, a 2+1 family can afford to spend almost PLN 730.2 thousand (which is over PLN 13.1 thousand more than a month earlier), and a childless couple – almost PLN 608.7 thousand (PLN 18.4 thousand more). In turn, an average-earning single person can spend PLN 469 thousand on buying a new apartment with a loan and their own contribution, which is about PLN 5 thousand less than in June.

Couples and 2+1 families are in the best situation. Time was on their side. In all metropolises, the offer of apartments that are within their financial reach has increased. For example, in Krakow, a family with a child had 2,260 new apartments at their disposal in July. For comparison, in June there were 1,769.

Is it the same with singles? Not entirely. According to BIG DATA data from RynekPierwotny.pl, they will find a place for themselves in each of the largest metropolises. The largest selection of new apartments priced at up to PLN 469,000 is in Łódź and in cities that are part of the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis. Unfortunately, in both of these metropolises, their offer has shrunk, e.g. in Łódź from over 2.5 thousand to less than 2.4 thousand premises. On the other hand, in the remaining metropolises, not only is the offer much more modest, but in Poznań, Warsaw and the Tri-City it has even shrunk.