Despite strong competition among property sellers, the secondary housing market has not seen a significant downward trend in prices. Among the five cities analysed, only transactions in Wrocław recorded lower prices per square metre. At the same time, the mortgage market has experienced an unprecedented reversal in cost dynamics: after years of the opposite situation, variable-rate mortgages have become cheaper than fixed-rate offers, presenting buyers with an entirely new set of dilemmas.
The first data from the Metrohouse and Credipass Barometer report, based on transactions completed by Metrohouse agents in Poland’s largest cities, leaves little room for doubt. Contrary to the expectations of many people closely following the market, nominal apartment prices are not falling. On the contrary, apart from Wrocław, where buyers completed transactions in the second quarter of 2026 at prices lower than in the previous quarter, prices have either remained very close to their levels at the beginning of the year, as in Łódź, or continued to rise.
Price increases were recorded in Kraków, where the average exceeded PLN 14,000 per square metre, up 5 percent. Prices also increased in Warsaw, reaching PLN 15,823 per square metre, up 2.8 percent, and in Gdańsk, where they rose by 1.4 percent to PLN 13,610 per square metre.
In all cities, the average prices recorded in notarised deeds were higher than a year earlier. The smallest annual increase, at 1.4 percent, was recorded in Warsaw, while Gdańsk saw a much more substantial increase of 12.7 percent.
The most frequently purchased properties fall within the 46–54 square metre range. These are typically standard two-room apartments or compact three-room flats. Despite the recurring popularity of this size range, larger properties of more than 70 square metres, which are less commonly available on the market, also attract buyer interest.
In Poland’s largest cities, this segment competes with the terraced housing that has become increasingly popular over the past decade and serves as an alternative to apartment living. In many cases, the price of a three-room apartment in a large city is sufficient to buy a terraced home in a municipality surrounding the city.
| City | Average transaction price in Q2 2026 per sq m | Quarterly change | Annual change | Average purchase price | Average purchased area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wrocław | PLN 11,919 | -3.2% | 2.5% | PLN 549,000 | 47 sq m |
| Kraków | PLN 14,046 | 5.0% | 2.2% | PLN 644,000 | 46 sq m |
| Warsaw | PLN 15,823 | 2.8% | 1.4% | PLN 772,000 | 49 sq m |
| Gdańsk | PLN 13,610 | 1.4% | 12.7% | PLN 614,000 | 45 sq m |
| Łódź | PLN 7,732 | -0.2% | 3.8% | PLN 416,000 | 54 sq m |
Average transaction prices per square metre on the secondary housing market in the second quarter of 2026. Metrohouse’s own calculations.
Mortgage Borrowers Face New Dilemmas
Alongside the dynamic price situation, the mortgage market has entered a period of strong recovery. Despite continuing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, buyers have moved quickly to fulfil previously postponed housing needs.
However, the quarter also brought a fundamental shift in the market. For the first time in a long period, financing based on a variable interest rate proved cheaper than mortgages with a periodically fixed rate.
“We are dealing with a very demanding and, in some ways, paradoxical quarter. In recent years, clients have routinely chosen periodically fixed-rate mortgages, treating them as a natural insurance policy in times of uncertainty and benefiting from the fact that they were simply cheaper than variable-rate loans.
“Today, this dilemma has returned in full force, because the mathematics now favours variable-rate offers. It is worth noting that in recent weeks we have already observed slight declines in fixed rates, which are gradually narrowing this market gap.
“The second challenge for recovering demand remains the time required to process applications. The huge inflow of documents has clearly congested banks’ credit assessment departments, and waiting times for final lending decisions have become noticeably longer in recent weeks,” said Andrzej Łukaszewski, financial expert at Credipass and co-author of the Barometer report.
