The year 2022, despite a generally strong decline in sales on the residential real estate market, was distinguished by a strong increase in the share of home purchases by foreigners. In 2022, foreigners bought over 29,000 in Poland. premises against 22 thousand. a year before. At the same time, we estimate that the total number of transactions in the country concerning flats, houses and cooperative ownership rights to flats fell last year by almost half compared to the previous year. This means that in 2022, in the case of every seventh notarial deed, the buyer was a foreigner, while in 2021 it was only every twentieth deed. Interestingly, such a strong increase in the interest of foreigners in the housing market in Poland took place in the year when the war broke out across our eastern border, and opinions about the possibility of extending the armed conflict to other countries were popular in the media.
In contrast to the weakening of home purchases by domestic buyers, foreigners significantly increased home purchases in Poland during 2022. We estimate that foreigners were the buyer in up to every seventh residential real estate transaction in 2022, which means a significant increase in such transactions compared to recent years.
We estimate that many purchases of apartments by foreigners in 2022 were of an investment nature. These were purchases with the intention of renting or resale at a later date for a profit.
The residential market in Poland is attractive to foreign investors due to the high rate of return, relatively low taxation of rental income, as well as solid macroeconomic foundations of the economy, especially the labor market, which allow us to expect a strong increase in housing prices in the long term.
Apart from the investment demand, purchases of real estate in Poland by foreigners are related to satisfying the housing needs of immigrants who decide to stay with us longer; this applies primarily to Ukrainians and Belarusians. In recent years, the share of transactions concluded by representatives of these nationalities has increased significantlyin total transactions made by foreigners.
The Pulse of Real Estate: Foreigners are more active one the Polish residential merket (pkobp.pl)