Real estate prices are higher in “rich cities”? They analyzed the data
At first glance, it seems that the amount of income is the most important factor when buying a flat. In reality, however, what matters more is how these earnings relate to the prices of flats. This allows us to assess how much square footage we can buy for our monthly salary and what kind of flat we can realistically afford.
RynekPierwotny.pl portal checked the availability of apartments in selected provincial cities.
High earnings do not always go hand in hand with high real estate prices
– According to the June data from the Central Statistical Office, the highest salaries were offered by Kraków, Warsaw, Katowice and Gdańsk. In turn, the lowest were in Białystok, Gorzów Wielkopolski and Kielce. As it turns out, high salaries do not always go hand in hand with high property prices, as exemplified by Katowice. And vice versa, for example in Lublin, despite low salaries, the offer of development companies is dominated by apartments built with wealthy clients in mind –says Marek Wielgo, expert of the RynekPierwotny.pl portal.
It is worth adding that it is not the capital of Upper Silesia, but Zielona Góra and Gorzów Wielkopolski that are characterized by the most favorable ratio of new apartment prices to earnings. These are cities where both prices per square meter and earnings are among the lowest among provincial cities. In June 2024, for the average gross salary from the corporate sector, one could buy there, respectively: 0.97 square meters (Zielona Góra) and 0.93 square meters (Gorzów Wielkopolski) of real estate in developer construction.
The aforementioned Katowice (0.77 sq m) and Bydgoszcz (0.76 sq m) also look good, where the average price per square meter from developers’ offers has still not exceeded PLN 10,000. The smallest area of a new apartment for an average gross salary could be bought in June this year by residents of Warsaw – only 0.55 sq m. This is hardly surprising, because although it is easiest to find a well-paid job in the capital, real estate prices are very high.
The largest selection of apartments was in Wrocław
Prices are one thing, but another important issue is the size of the offer, so that each buyer can choose from apartments that suit them based on various parameters.
RynekPierwotny.pl examined how many apartments were available on the market (both primary and secondary) per thousand inhabitants in various cities in June 2024.
It turns out that buyers had the largest choice of apartments in Wrocław. In this metropolis, there were 25 offers per 1,000 residents. Buyers of apartments in Gdańsk (23 offers/1,000 people) and in Łódź, Katowice and Poznań (21 offers/1,000 people each) had a slightly smaller choice. Zielona Góra stands out unfavourably compared to other cities. Only 8 offers of apartments per 1,000 residents.
– Paradoxically, there are cities in Poland such as Zielona Góra or Gorzów Wielkopolski, where despite the high availability of apartments, there are not many buyers. As a result, the supply on the primary market is also small. And vice versa. Where the demand for apartments is high, their availability is sometimes lower due to high prices –comments Marek Wielgo, expert of the RynekPierwotny.pl portal.
