Profiling the Polish apartment hunter

At the Central European Property and Investment Fair (CEPIF), held in Warsaw last week, RedNet Property Group presented its survey of the five largest residential markets in Poland - Warsaw, Tri-City, Kraków, Wrocław and Poznań. The survey reflects the opinions of 2,000 respondents as well as 23,000 preference reports filled out by people searching for apartments on tabelaofert.pl. The survey found that young, single people who don't live in the city in which they were born make up the largest group of those looking to buy an apartment.

Youthful exuberance
According to the survey, almost 80 percent of prospective apartment buyers are people aged 35 or younger. Those older are interested in houses. The largest numbers of young people looking to purchase an apartment can be found in cities where there are large numbers of non-native residents, such as Warsaw, Wrocław and Tri-City. Only about 45 percent of people who live in Tri-city were born there. In Warsaw, the proportion is only 30 percent. "The fact that only every third person looking for a new apartment was born in Warsaw proves the pace of the city's development," says Łukasz Madej, from RedNet Property Group.

An increasing number of buyers see an apartment as an investment. Almost 40 percent of respondents said their reason for acquiring a new apartment is the hope of eventually selling it at a profit and buying a larger one. "The figures mean that the awareness is growing. People see that each month the value of property is going up," says Madej.

The changes in the family model taking place in Poland is also affecting demand. Single people not planning any children in the near future constitute over 50 percent of apartment buyers in Warsaw and Wrocław. Only 20 percent of buyers on the Warsaw market are families with children. This is starting to influence the final product. Customers are more focused on comfort and a higher standard. Thus, apartments coming onto the market are increasingly similar to those in the West. 

Size matters
Though three-room apartments are in the biggest demand country-wide, two-room apartments are most popular in the Warsaw, due to a higher price per sqm and a larger population of single people. In Warsaw, Kraków and Wrocław, an ideal two-room apartment is between 50 and 55 sqm. A three-room apartment in Tri-City should have a maximum of 65 sqm, whereas in Warsaw it should cover between 70 and 80 sqm.

About a third of prospective buyers wants to finance their purchase with a mortgage. Only about 10 percent will use their own money. This ought to be taken under consideration, because if for two years a customer must pay installments on a new apartment along with the rent for his current one before moving in, he may be unable to afford it. To resolve this, developers are beginning to introduce new financing methods.

Madej says that in terms of location, Warsaw experience shows workplace accessibility might be important if the district is interesting and has a good reputation. Newcomers show no attachment to the well-known districts. The number of apartments per floor, the view from the windows, surrounding greenery and a balcony seem to play a more crucial role than shopping malls, schools or the subway. In terms of security, customers prefer their apartment building to have a fence and 24-hour monitoring.