Any property experts out there? I have been renting in Poland for about 4 years now and have just sold my house in South Africa and am ready to buy in Poland. Am busy scouring websites like Otodom and Dom Gratka looking for something suitable. My question is: How realistic is the seller's pricing? Is there much chance of getting a 5-10% discount from the seller (or more)? I know individual sellers' circumstances will vary but would like to know if anybody has recent experience buying and selling. What are your views on the property market currently (buyers or sellers market) ?
Also do the developers of new builds ever negotiate prices? I am agonizingly short of having enough for a decent place and would rather beat down the sellers price than go to the Bank for a loan.
Try more websites and also a magazine 'Nieruchomosci (I know one comes out in Krakow, must be the same for other towns). Obviously, if you go out of the town centres the prices will be lower and with good links having to travel 30 minutes to the town is no big deal.
The sellers can very often be knocked down on price if you offer cash for the property (say 10-15%) . If you go through an estate agent (biuro nieruchomosci) remember that it will cost you at least 5% for their trouble.
Always add 10% on top of the price for legalities (Akt Notarialny, taxa, Vat)
The 10% I quoted is a general guide for buying from someone else. This is what you should have over and above any price. If you want to build a house from new - ask the right people. In the end, unless you are a competent negotiator, know all the rules and regulations - it will cost you more. If you want to buy from a developer...you have to be very careful that you don't pay any money up front and the developer goes bankrupt and you lose all your money. You will find plenty of newly built houses - it is up to you to negotiate the price with the developer, but generally they will not budge with the price. Also be careful whether you are buying a ready to walk into, or just the basics without any finishes.
All depends. On properties which are popular and in demand, such as small to medium sized flats in major cities, the seller may insist on full list price if he feels that's what he could get and is not desperate to sell.
On the other hand, I've seen houses advertised for say 500k that eventually sold for 250k, so it all depends on the circumstances, the market, and how desperate the seller is.
The further out of town you go, the more hit and miss the pricing. Generally the difference between asking and sale price is about 20-25% when it comes to regular sized houses. Its not unheard of two have two similar properties in similar locations with a difference of 50% in price or more. But dont let that deter you. I was recently looking at a property in Wroclaw with an ask of 2.5M. It wasnt something I was really interested in but it was a means to an end. Anyway, the property was worth probably somewhere between 1 and 1.5M and after a short time discussing, the seller pretty much acknowledged that they need to come down. I didnt buy in the end as it wasnt something I was planning to do but it does show how out of line peoples thinking is sometimes. At the end of the day, people expect to be knocked down and that reflects in the asking price. Because there tend to be few transactions than in the west, people will acknowledge the buyer and reduced the price if pressed. Its still a buyers market in Poland, certainly for houses and flats, though good commercial is getting tough to find at good prices.
