In May 2026, the value of inquiries for housing loans increased by 32.7% year on year, according to the latest reading of the BIK Housing Loan Demand Index. This means that, when adjusted per working day, banks and credit unions submitted inquiries to the Credit Information Bureau for housing loans with a value almost one third higher than in May 2025.
BIK data confirm the continuing recovery in the market for financing home purchases. In May 2026, 45,090 people applied for a housing loan. A year earlier, the figure stood at 38,570, which means an increase of 16.9% year on year. Compared with April 2026, the number of applicants rose by 6.7%.
Average Loan Amount Still Above Half a Million Zlotys
The increase in the value of the index results not only from a higher number of applicants, but also from the growing average value of the loan requested. In May 2026, it amounted to PLN 505,590. This was 8.1% more than in May 2025.
The average value of the requested housing loan therefore remains above the symbolic threshold of PLN 500,000. At the same time, it was slightly lower than in the record month of March 2026, falling by 0.2% compared with March.
The high average loan application amount shows that the financing needs of homebuyers remain substantial. This may result both from the level of property prices and from the fact that some customers are applying for higher financing amounts after an improvement in creditworthiness.
BIK: Strong Demand, but Growth Momentum Will Slow
According to BIK, May’s data indicate a good demand situation in the housing loan market. At the same time, analysts point out that annual growth dynamics may gradually weaken in the coming months.
“The good demand situation is confirmed by the nearly 17% year-on-year increase in the number of people applying for a housing loan in May this year. However, this growth rate will decline from month to month, which is directly related to the base effect. In the coming months, we will be comparing current data with months that were already part of the recovery phase in the housing loan market,” said Waldemar Rogowski, PhD, chief analyst at BIK Group.
The base effect means that future readings will be compared with months in which the credit market was already clearly more active than before. In practice, this may reduce the annual growth rate of the index, even if demand itself remains relatively high.
Number of Applicants Key for Future Readings
According to BIK, two basic factors were responsible for the May reading of the index: a higher number of people submitting loan applications and a higher average value of the loan requested. In the coming months, however, the number of applicants may have the greatest impact on the value of the index.
“The value of the May reading of the BIK Housing Loan Demand Index was driven by two factors: the growing number of applicants and the rising amount of the requested loan. Since the number of applicants, which is likely to remain at around 40,000–45,000, will have a greater impact on the value of the index in the coming months, the value of the index will decline in the months ahead even if the average loan amount increases. This, of course, will not mean a deterioration in the housing loan market,” explained the chief analyst of BIK Group.
This means that a lower growth rate of the index in the coming months does not necessarily have to be interpreted as a signal of market weakness. If the number of people applying for a loan remains in the range of 40,000–45,000 per month, demand can still be considered high.
Housing Loan Market Remains in Recovery Phase
The May BIK reading fits into the picture of a market that remains significantly more active than a year earlier. The increase in the number of applicants shows that some households have returned to plans to buy a home financed with a mortgage. Important factors include expectations regarding interest rates, wage levels, housing prices and the availability of bank offers.
At the same time, the high average amount of requested financing indicates that buying a home still requires a large credit commitment. For banks, this means a higher potential value of new lending, but for customers it means the need to meet creditworthiness requirements for liabilities that, on average, exceed half a million zlotys.
The BIK Housing Loan Demand Index is an indicator measuring interest in housing loans in Poland. It shows the change in the value of loan applications submitted by individual customers compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. The index is used by analysts and financial institutions to assess trends in the mortgage market and to forecast future lending activity.
