Buy an apartment in Warsaw now or wait

Hi All,

I am currently residing in the US, but I plan to move to Poland and settle there in 2-3 years timeframe. I have enough cash to buy an apartment in Warsaw now and move into it later when I finally move (can rent in the meantime). I am curios to hear everyone's thoughts on such investment. Where do you think are housing prices going? Also, secondary, I'd appreciate thoughts on buying into an older (maybe even pre-war) building versus a new construction or even an unfinished one.

Thanks!

Upscale prices are coming down, downscale prices are going up. If you see what I mean. A lot depends on the area now, more than it used to.


That depends largely on where you want to live; older apartments closer to the centre, newer ones out in the 'burbs.

source please?

The older ones are better built than the new ones and usually have lovely, original parquet floors and higher ceilings. Some of the older buildings are in a pretty bad state but more and more are being renovated. You can generally get value for money in one of the more modest pre-war buildings which were built as 'workers' housing' back in the 1920s and 1930s. They tend to be on the small side though, so it depends on how much space you want. Most of these buildings are owned by the city and so the common parts, roof and so on are gradually being renovated, inuslated etc. The service charge (czynsz) tends to be low which is another advantage. Your neighbours can be a bit of a mixed bag but their bark is frequently worse than their bite.

This is generally true; they also have more character in general. If however you want a second bathroom or a larger balcony/terrace, those are more easily found in new or new-ish buildings.


Also true. Those very nice buildings (some started in the late 30s, completed during the war) at the bottom end of Żoliborz have excellent flats however many of the residents are older people were placed there by the city, a step away from homelessness and often with alcohol issues. They may well be pleasant enough people, however it keeps prices down in the immediate vicinity. Great when you buy, not so good when you come to resell.

I'd avoid newer buildings with 'leisure facilities' due to differences in taxation rules.

Prices of new apartments have fallen, though very little. Prices of second hand apartments are stable or went up a little.

bezprawnik.pl/ceny-nowych-mieszkan/

Żoliborz is a bit of a tragedy, a potentially and indeed originally very pretty, almost sylvan place, totally destroyed by the constant noise of the low-flying aircraft going to and from the airport at Babice.

We get that here, on the other side of Babice; it's the wrong place for an airfield. It affects quality of life, potentially affects real estate prices, and with all the amateur pilots taking off and landing in a built-up area, risks an accident one day.

Having said that, Żoliborz is still a nice place to live. Whether the proposed new bridge and the road building connected with it affects that is yet to be seen.

But very safe coz the PIS Chairman lives there and the state police patrol the area very dutifully day by day. I pay for it and you, too.

Not for long his new adders would be somewhere in Tworki.

Most parts of Warsaw are comparatively safe.

Hugely so. Very few 'dodgy' areas (and a sluggish housing market in/near those places).

There are some lovely bits of Żoliborz. Annoying for shopping though; it doesn't do well for supermarkets.