Lower demand and difficulties finding buyers are causing sellers of second-hand apartments to continue to lower prices before negotiations begin. As a result, advertised rates are lower than a year ago, according to the Barometer report prepared by Metrohouse and Credipass.
In Q2 2025, the largest Polish secondary markets saw year-on-year declines in average transaction prices, ranging from 0.2% in Gdańsk, 3.3% in Warsaw, and 7.9% in Łódź, where apartments were again priced below PLN 7,500/sq m on average. Only in Wrocław were the average amounts entered in notarial deeds higher (+2.5%) than in the same period last year.
Prices are falling, but so is square footage
However, the rates that rose in 2023 and early 2024 remain unacceptable for a significant portion of buyers. According to data from Metrohouse and Credipass, in the second quarter of 2025, buyers paid significantly less for apartments than a year ago, which was a consequence of choosing smaller units. The average area of apartments purchased increased only in Warsaw. In the other cities analyzed, it decreased, from 1 square meter in Łódź to 13 square meters in Wrocław.
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|
Average prices and average negotiation possibilities for apartment prices on the secondary market – Q2 2025 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
City |
Average transaction price [in PLN/sq m] |
Year-on-year change [in percent] |
Average negotiation capabilities [in percent] |
Difference between the first and final offer price [in percent] |
Average price of the purchased apartment [in PLN] |
Average square footage of the purchased apartment [in sq m] |
|
Wroclaw |
11,631 |
+2.5 |
2.1 |
3.9 |
509,000 |
44 |
|
Cracow |
13,748 |
-1.4 |
1.6 |
4.9 |
633,000 |
46 |
|
Warsaw |
15,603 |
-3.3 |
1.6 |
5.3 |
835,000 |
55 |
|
Gdansk |
12,081 |
-0.2 |
1.1 |
1.6 |
594,000 |
49 |
|
Łódź |
7449 |
-7.9 |
2.8 |
4.4 |
369,000 |
49 |
|
Source: Metrohouse and Credipass Barometer Report |
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The average prices for which apartments were purchased decreased on average from PLN 29,000 (-7.3%) in Łódź to PLN 70,000 (-12.1%) in Wrocław.
Buyers have time
Still-high rates mean sellers have to search and wait a long time before finding a buyer. Another interest rate cut in July also failed to significantly increase demand.
“We still can't speak of an increase in interest in investment purchases. We estimate that only one in five apartments is currently purchased for purposes other than meeting one's own housing needs. The increasingly saturated rental market poses a significant challenge for investors,” comments Marcin Jańczuk, Metrohouse expert and author of “Barometer.”
The average time to finalize a transaction in Warsaw increased by nearly three weeks to 92 days. Across the five largest markets, the average time in Q2 2025 was 135 days—49 days more than during the same period last year. In smaller cities, the average was 138 days (compared to 107 days in Q2 2024).
“A large supply of apartments, combined with moderate demand, leads to asking prices being adjusted until buyers show interest,” notes Marcin Jańczuk. “The wide range of offers on the secondary market, as well as those produced by developers, paradoxically hampers the search. On the one hand, it offers significant opportunities, including negotiation, for determined buyers, but it also doesn't put them under time pressure,” he adds.
How much can you negotiate when buying an apartment?
Sellers are still willing to lower prices while searching for buyers and displaying ads – on average from 1.6% in Gdańsk to around 5% in the most expensive cities: Warsaw and Kraków.
Buyers could also squeeze some price reductions during negotiations with sellers. In the second quarter of 2025, the average price reduction ranged from approximately 1% in Gdańsk to 2.8% in Łódź.
