We build like never before. But the problem of the lack of apartments does not disappear

Today we are celebrating World Housing Day and on this occasion the UN once again draws attention to the challenges related to the availability of apartments.

Experts of the RynekPierwotny.pl portal have calculated that from the entrance of Poland to the European Union in the country, as many as 328 million sq m of new apartments and houses was created – this area corresponds to the city of Krakow.

Despite this progress, Poland is still struggling with problems characteristic of the “difficult start” of the Third Polish Republic. At the beginning of the 1990s, there were less than 300 premises and houses per 1000 inhabitants, which, compared to other countries, was one of the lowest results in Europe. Only in the last decade we managed to reach the average EU level, although we are still behind the leaders of the continent.

– In terms of the area per person and the number of households for the premises or house, our country thirty years ago presented itself worse than even Slovakia – not to mention even the Czechs and Hungary, i.e. countries with a much better starting position after 1989 – notes Andrzej Prajsnar, expert on the portal RynekPierwotny.pl.

Polish apartment in pursuit of the West

Experts emphasize that the difficult economic situation at the beginning of the current century was disturbed by catching up Polish housing arrears.

– When in 2004 Poland entered the EU, we were at the gray end in the statistics regarding housing. However, since then a lot has changed with us. Of course, there are statistics that we can be proud of, but there are also those that do not bring pride to our country – says Marek Wielgo, an expert of the RynekPierwotny.pl portal.

No apartment is still the main problem of Poles

Unfortunately, as experts indicate, the state of satisfying housing needs still leaves much to be desired. The results of the study of the Habitat for Humanity Poland Foundation show that the lack of housing or bad housing conditions belong to the most frequently mentioned problems by Poles and Poles – they only give way to the growing costs of life, low earnings and poor health care.

– Earlier, the housing problem was in third place in the “ranking” of the largest social ills. In 2015, he pointed to him over half of the respondents, and this year less than a quarter. This change suggests that the housing situation has improved quite clearly in the last 10 years – emphasizes Wielgo.

For a Polish apartment, you could do more

On the occasion of this analysis, the question arises whether in twenty years of the Polish “apartment” the state did enough to improve its balance. Unfortunately, the answer is: no. For most of this period, housing issues enjoyed much less interest in politicians than today.

– For example, you can ask yourself whether the growing confusion around the reform of spatial planning will have a positive impact on the market in the coming quarters. It seems no – sums up Prajsnar.