Foreigners are buying an increasing number of apartments in Poland. Although Ukrainians have dominated this market for years, data from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration shows growing activity from other nationalities as well, including Indians, Turks and even Czechs.
“Just over a decade ago, the Polish housing market primarily attracted capital — often anonymous capital — focused on quick profit and an equally quick exit from investment. Today, Poland mainly attracts people: those who come here to work, study, start businesses and, over time, put down roots,” says Marek Wielgo, an expert at GetHome.pl.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, foreigners bought more than 17,700 apartments in Poland in 2025, 2% more than a year earlier. However, compared with statistics from ten years ago, the scale of growth is enormous — the number of transactions is now almost five times higher.
Ukrainians remain far ahead, while Belarusians are catching up
Ukrainians buy the largest number of apartments in Poland. Especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Ministry recorded a sharp increase in transactions involving Ukrainian citizens.
According to the ministry’s data, Ukrainian citizens bought nearly 9,300 apartments last year, with a total area of more than 548,000 sqm. This is more than the combined floor area purchased by citizens of all the other 115 countries included in the ranking.
Belarusians are also a fast-growing group of foreign apartment buyers in Poland. In 2025, they bought more than 2,700 apartments with a total area of almost 192,000 sqm, more than seven times as much as in 2019.
“The migration of Belarusians is largely driven by the political situation in their country,” comments Marek Wielgo.
Indians move up the ranking
The expert points out, however, that behind the two leading groups, there is a growing number of nationalities that only a few years ago played a marginal role. This is particularly visible in the case of Indians. Their purchases are still much smaller than those of the leaders, but the pace of growth is impressive — from less than 4,000 sqm in 2019 to 16,000 sqm in 2025. To put this into perspective, this is roughly equivalent to 320 apartments of 50 sqm each.
Indians entered the top 10 nationalities buying the most apartments in Poland in 2022 and have since moved up from ninth to fourth place. Buyers are mainly specialists employed in Poland, particularly in the new technologies and services sectors.
At first, they rent apartments, but over time they increasingly decide to buy. This is a sign that Poland is an attractive alternative for them compared with more expensive Western European markets, offering lower living costs, a stable labour market and still more affordable housing.
Another important factor is that Poland’s housing market — outside border zones — is open to foreigners and does not require special permits. In practice, this means that the decision by an Indian citizen to buy an apartment involves formalities that are not significantly different from those faced by a Polish or EU citizen.
Turks and Czechs enter the market
A similar, although less spectacular, trend can be seen among Turkish citizens. Their “housing portfolio” has grown in recent years to around 10,000 sqm, equivalent to about 200 apartments of 50 sqm each. Some of these purchases may result from the growing presence of Turkish citizens in Poland, but for many, apartments are also a safe store of capital.
The most surprising rise, however, is that of the Czechs. Their purchases have also reached around 10,000 sqm, allowing them to enter the top 10. This is a very different case from India or Turkey, as it is difficult to speak of migration in the case of Czech buyers.
The term “neighbouring investor” seems more appropriate here. Geographic proximity and lower apartment prices than in the Czech Republic make the Polish market a natural investment destination for them.
Practical motives cannot be ruled out either, such as buying apartments in tourist destinations as a second home for weekends.
Weaker demand from Western Europe
On the other hand, there is a clear decline in interest in Poland among citizens of Western European countries. Germans, French, Britons and Italians are still among the leading buyers, but their importance is steadily decreasing. In the case of Germans, the decline is particularly visible — from 59,400 sqm in 2021 and more than 75,000 sqm in 2022 to less than 44,000 sqm three years later.
There may be several reasons for this. First, Poland has stopped attracting Western speculative investors to the same extent. Apartment prices have risen sharply, rental yields have fallen, and access to financing has become more difficult. For Western investors who, until recently, saw Poland as a place for quick returns, the market is no longer as attractive.
Second, some purchases attributed in the ministry’s statistics to German or British citizens may in fact have been made by Poles who had acquired citizenship in those countries. They bought apartments for themselves, for their families or with a view to returning to Poland. Over time, this stream of demand is naturally being exhausted.
