How much for a student apartment? There is a great search for apartments in academic cities
September and October are the times when most contracts for renting apartments for students are concluded. However, the amount that students – or their parents – have to spend on renting a room, not to mention an independent apartment, is changing.
Less than 40 percent of 1.22 million Polish students rent an apartment or room – according to the report “Students on the real estate market” prepared by AMRON-SARFiN. Most of them rent apartments “on the market”, but there is an increased interest in staying with family or friends. In the summer semester of 2023, the share of students living in dormitories also increased (14% and +3 percentage points y/y). Only one in twenty students still owned their own property.
Real estate for students. September, time to look for roommates
Only 13 percent students have the comfort of living alone. 38% share an apartment or house with one roommate. students. Only 13 percent people have the entire property just for themselves.
It is not surprising that most contracts are signed before the start of the academic year. In September, October 50% was signed for the 2022/2023 academic year. all rental agreements involving students.
Students are determined: 27 percent. stationary and 33 percent part-time students did not look at any property before deciding to rent with another person. Every fifth full-time student and every sixth part-time student looked at at least five apartments before signing the contract.
The rush to rent may result from the awareness that there are few good-priced premises on the market. Otodom Analytics analyzed rental prices in 40 largest cities in Poland. In July 2023, just before students started attacking available apartments and rooms, the average rental price in Warsaw was PLN 5,037. Today, students can only dream about the rates from autumn 2021, when the same average was just over PLN 3,700. The situation is slightly better in Krakow, where the average rental price in July exceeded PLN 3,100. However, even the smallest apartments here do not fall below the average price of PLN 2,400. Studio apartments in Krakow have gone up in price by almost 5%, to an average of PLN 2,200.
Reading the advertisements leaves no doubt. The average rental price is currently around PLN 2,000 plus additional fees. The consequence of high rental prices is a flood of advertisements looking for a roommate. Here the cost is divided between two or more people.
Dorms for at best every eighth student
Dormitories could be the answer to students’ needs, but their offer covers only 5 to 15 percent of the demand. all people studying in Poland, depending on the city. The rent in a public dormitory for a “bed” costs on average from about PLN 500 to even PLN 900/1000, depending on the standard, city or number of people in the room. However, the offer of public dormitories is still attractive to students looking for accommodation. It is worth emphasizing, however, that only a few facilities of this type have been comprehensively renovated and modernized over the last several decades.
The obstacle to obtaining a place in a public student dormitory is the limited number of places. Private investors are trying to fill the space on the student housing market. Currently, approximately 13,000 are available to students. places, and another 8 thousand is in preparation.
