The last year took us all by surprise, and there is basically no sphere of life that has not changed due to the emergence of COVID-19. The situation has also affected the real estate market, including apartment rentals. What is the reality one year after the pandemic in the largest cities in Poland?

Increased supply of apartments for rent in early 2021

In February this year, the supply of apartments for rent on the market was nearly 13 percent higher than last year. The pandemic situation has undoubtedly contributed to the increased number of rental properties available in our country. Many large cities were abandoned by students moving to remote teaching, people who lost their jobs, who could work remotely or foreigners also resigned from renting.
The result of increased supply and decreased demand in the real estate market was a drop in prices. Owners, who were forced to fight for tenants, often took advantage of price competition. As a result, rental rates fell at the beginning of this year by about 5 percent across Poland. Still, it is not as drastic a change as some expected.

Rental prices for apartments in the largest cities in Poland in 2020 and 2021

The exact situation of prices in 16 Polish cities was presented by experts from the Gratka.pl portal in their report prepared for Business Insider Polska. What is the current situation on the market compared to last year?

For years, in the real estate sector, the most expensive city in Poland remains Warsaw. Renting a studio in the capital in April 2020 cost on average 2050 zł, compared to 1900 zł in February this year. Similarly, the price of two rooms was 2800 zł and 2400 zł, and three rooms 3500 zł and 3300 zł. The list shows that the most expensive cities in Poland, just after Warsaw, at the beginning of the year were Wrocław, Gdańsk and Kraków. In turn, the cheapest apartments for rent could be found in Kielce, Białystok, Bydgoszcz and Olsztyn.

In terms of space, Poles are now most likely to rent properties of between 35 and 50 sq m, closely followed by studios. The number of people looking for the largest units is growing compared to last year, so in case of these apartments, rental prices remain stable.

Rental prices dropped, while purchase prices continue to rise

While rental prices fell at the beginning of the year, real estate prices on the secondary and primary markets are on the rise. New apartments in January were priced up to 3.5 percent higher than in December 2020.

Other factors that affect rental property prices

The pandemic situation has greatly affected rental property prices over the past year. However, it is worth bearing in mind that the rates on the market depend on many more factors. The price you have to pay for renting an apartment is, of course, influenced by the city it is located in, its area or location, but also by the standard of finish of the property, the floor it is on, the number of rooms and even the prices of neighbouring properties.

Further information about real estate offers in Warsaw:

E:  Information
W: Vilea