Current price of Homes in Poland

Could somebody advise of state of property prices in Poland, are they still going up???
Should a I deal with a Real Estate company or privately, also if a place is negotiable, how much less can I offer, thank you.

No...

How much down Grzegorz, how much should I offer for house 165,000zl. thank you

there are too many variables involved to answer that question - size and location for starters.

polish real estate prices are largely based on a sqm figure. work out what this is for the property you have in mind, compare this to other properties on the market locally and go from there.

exactly what is happening in the polish real estate market atm will depend on who you talk to. i spoke to 3 agents yesterday and suprise suprise was told 3 different things. it will also depend on the individual property in question. where i am, prices havent so much dropped as leveled off and the market is much less fluid than it was 6 months ago.

again where i am, properties are taking longer to sell and people are dropping prices to move properties quickly. if the property you are looking at has been on the marlet for a while, and the owner wants a sale, then obviously there is scope for an offer that reflects this.

using an agent can simplify the negotiation process but comes at an obvious cost - their fees. what they are able to negotiate for you with the vendor may negate the additional cost of the agent and frequently they themselves are open to negotiation with what they will charge for their services.

as said, there are too many variables involved to really give a concrete answer to your question - if the property has been on the market for a while go in with a low offer. they might say yes. if not, go back to the negotiating table and move from there. a property is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it!

good luck

Tosca asked: "Could somebody advise of state of property prices in Poland, are they still going up???"

First, you must clearly define the type of property you are referring to:

1) Flat
2) House (located on less than 1 hectare of land)
3) House (located on 1 hectare or more of land, which makes it eligible for a 'farm')
4) Land (less than one hectare)
5) Land (one hectare or more which can be used for farmland if arable)

Land can be further divided into commercial or arable (farmland).

Certain restrictions apply to foreigners. A foreigner (non Polish citizen) can freely purchase (1) (2) (4), however permission may be required for (2) (4). For property types (3) (5), permission is required from the Interior Ministry and Polish government, prior to the year 2012.

From the year 2012 and thereafter, a foreigner may be able to purchase (3) (5) - farms and farmland withou restrictions or permission. This is where much further price fluctuation, appreciation, and price equilibrium are possible due to the current purchasing restrictions in place. Market forces have not yet determined the true market value and price equilibrium for such properties due to the lack of a free market (market which includes everyone) in these types. Anyone with a Polish spouse may want to seriously consider purchasing this type of property prior to the year 2012, while decent prices are still around.

Flats, private homes located on less than 1 hectare, or land less than 1 hectare have seen more market play and price equilibrium due to the open market policy in buying and selling.

So first ask yourself, which property type do you wish to invest in? It is essential to consider the facts noted above when you have determined the property you desire. Also as a previous poster had mentioned, location is part of the price formula. Again, remember the date 2012. This is a key date in the Polish property market. Good luck!

Thank you for the advice, The agent who has the property on the market has told me if I pay him 4000zl he will make sure I get a good price for the property, I by chance bumped into the owner of the property at the supermaket, in conversation the owner told me he is paying the agent 5% on sale, he also told me the agent told me to increase the price and then take a offer, I am confused, is this common practice in Poland, the agency has Irish owners.

Any body has any other views on commisions in sale of property, when you buy in Poland the agent tells me prices have gone down, when you buy the agent tells me the property will double, I'm confused

starting to learn aren't you? lol

and i think i'd find a different agent although you will also get a different answer, as per bubba.

Truth is some prices are down and some are up - depends what and where. This might be useful:
mamdom.com/report.php

Normally the seller pays the agent 3% and so does the buyer so this seems steep commission. However foreign owned agents sometimes promise sellers a better price because they hope to sell the property to poorly informed foreigners, not the domestic market.

In my opinion prices will go up in the long term but the whole Credit Crunch is causing prices in some areas of Poland to drop at the moment. So get in while the going is good!

The agent you are dealing with sounds very dodgy. You pay him a back hander and he will get you a good price? No thanks! Go deal with an agent who sells to Polish buyers and get some normality!

I don't think I would be paying much attention to what mamdom has to say.lol. Its the rubbish that these people put out that has conned a lot of Brits into buying in Poland. mamdom is a British company that targets westerners, treat what they say with a grain of salt.

lots of Brits have bought property in Poland and made a nice profit .... how is it a con ?

Your are correct in saying this, we are talking about current situation, lots of homes are advertised on internet and are not selling, tell me why?

Polish people do not buy trust the British seller, they know he wants to make money, It is far cheaper to buy land and build yourself.

You keep record of homes for sale and see how long it is not sold.
I cannot see a million British people wanting to live in Poland because house is cheaper here. Don't listen to Mandom it is just full of lies.

Yes it is true.

As a solid real estate agent I can say that prices in Wroclaw are stabiliezed with 2-4% tendency to grow.

Yesterday, Channel 4 had a interesting episode of "A place in the sun: home or away" with a woman wanting to move to Krakow but her sister wanting her to stay in London. Comparing prices and quality of property there was not a contest to which city won. She could get a tiny 1 bedroom flat in an ok London area or a impressive 3 bedroom flat + large bathroom + garden + maintenance team for half the price in Krakow. She moved to Krakow.

Programmes like this will only increase the number of Brits that are likely to move in Poland as they realise that their money goes further and the lifestyle is slower.

I believe the episode shown was from 2006, so prices were definitely more attractive then.

I still think that we'll see quite a few Brits moving to Poland, although not in the same numbers as the Poles who came over to England !

Prices have stabilised in many of the larger cities, and there has even been a drop in some - there was an article in one of the Krakow real estate magazines stating that there may be a 15% drop in property (apartment) prices over the next 12 months. Only time will tell. Also developers are more likely to give a discount or better payment terms due to the stabilisation of house prices.

I personally think that now is a good time to buy property in Poland; in 2010 with the introduction of the euro and hopefully the Football Euro Championships in Poland and Ukraine in 2012 we will see the next surge in property prices.

The only negative with buying is that the złoty to the £ is about 4.3 to 1.

Actually Mamdom is a Polish company


Why?

Seriously, I get flak on this forum alot because I have used them three times for various flat purchases and been very happy - much happier than the flaffing around I tried with other companies or dealing direct with agencies .....

BUT

That does not mean I am not ready to listen - if you have had a bad experience put it here. Maybe I have just been lucky? My properties have been very profitable and I am buying a 4th this year and ... I never thought I would say this .. but I am considering moving there permenantly - maybe something they put in the Vodka!

join the club ..... there seem to be quite a few other members of PF with the same plan !

How does one find out about building costs in Poland?
Is there a difference in the cost of building one house compared to say 30 in terms of price per house?
JOJOJ

one comes up with a general table of costs, sums it, multiplies by two, rounds up and then prays that the prices of materials and labour will not rocket up in the next months. At least about land prices one does not have to worry so much anymore.

It is not possible to generalise with regards to property prices in Poland, it depends on whether you are looking to purchase land, flat, or house. Prices differ by area and city if you have an idea as to what you are looking for I can assist as I have my own estate agency in Warsaw.

I've already happily done so in June, 2002. :-)


This is not an entirely accurate statement. Land prices are in for a big change when the year 2012 is reached. This key year will enable foreigners to purchase farmland without any restrictions. I heard this same year will coincide with Germany's plan to allow Poles to legally work in their country, without any restrictions. Sounds like a deal was struck between the two countries when EU negotiations were in progress several years ago. :-)

czesc. is there an english website that can provide information similar to what that tv show presented? dzienki bardzo =)

You will get the jist of things sooner or later, hopefully sooner. When a foreigner wishes to buy in Poland.. the agents inflate their price as they think you are a millionaire and an idiot. Don't do anything unless you have it on paper and you understand it fully. The only way to win is to have a contract in which way if they try to stroke you, you can take em to court.

Hello Tosca,


Yes.


That explains everything, just kidding, but they are too dodgy to deal with.
My general rule is if you smell something fishy don't deal with them, of course this depends after all you are buying the house not the agent. I know I just contradicted myself but it all depends on the circumstances. 165,000zl. does sound cheap but where is it and what kind of houses is it?


This is the old view, buy land or get given it by your parents, first five years put in foundations then put up walls then put on roof then leave to Ireland or Britain and basically finish your house over the next 20 years and do not trust westerners, they want to make money?

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My opinion, for what it is worth, is Polish homes have stabilized and in the long term will go up for the reasons stated on this thread. But the stabilization means trouble for builders and developers on new builds. The prices of labour is going up a lot, the price of materials too but also buyers are not as naive as they used to be. Buyers expect more for their money, rightfully so.

I have just recently checked out my competition and their two story houses have no stairs in them!. And there seems to be so many rip off merchants it is ridiculas.

Also finishing the house, developer standard open/closed is soon going to be a thing of the past. And finishing ground works, simple things like trees, fences and grass.

For people selling their old house I see a tendency that sellers see their next door neighbour selling for 5,000 per square metre (for a 110 m2 house), so they assume there 300m2 house is worth 1500000 Zl (not to mention the the difference in finish) and leave it on the market for years, no body buys these and people feel the market has crashed. Small manageable houses still sell.

Guess who is building smaller manageable houses then, lol.

Best of luck to you Tosca.

I've seen a few of these smaller houses on the edge of town or in villages a little further out.
Some of them are private estates. They are selling and occopied quickly.
Small groups of houses, three or four in a row....are not selling.

A problem with these new estates is that they never seem to have decent roads leading up to them.

Totally agree, we are lucky, we have a nice road paved road to our block, but some i've seen you would need a 4wdrive to get there in winter or after heavy rain.

More people are preferring to own a house with some breathing room. Land, forests, perhaps enough arable land to even plant some crops. I left a large city in the USA to live in a property that has several hectares of my own forests (with trails), surrounding my house. Sure, I could have bought something similar in the USA, but this is the center of Europe! :-)

This can present problems for some people. Connections to services etc.

I think many people try to buy the end/last plot on the edge of a village. This way they can build quite big and get connection to services and half decent roads.

The easiest way to live alone in the country is to take over an existing farm and then, if you wish, rebuild.

This is just based on what I see locally.

This is precisely what I've done! From the main road to my house is about 1 1/2 kilometers, and the first 1100 meters is paved road...the remaining portion to my home is regular farm road...but I'm not complaining. I like it. It's exactly what I wanted. Most important is that I have plenty of land / forest surrounding my home, peace and quiet, abundant spring water, and free firewood for a lifetime.

Maybe a little illegal, but homeowners deep in the countryside should factor in the savings on winter heating. Most wood burning stoves can heat radiators too.

I've been to the gmina and powiat administrative offices. They stated there is nothing illegal about burning my own firewood in a wood stove as long as my forest isn't in a protected area such as a park. I even sell firewood to those who need it.