Apartments Are Getting More Expensive, Insurance Policies Cheaper

In provincial capitals, apartment prices have increased by an average of 14.5% over the past year. This rate applies to both new apartments and those from the secondary market. At the same time, the cheapest insurance policies for residents declaring residence in a provincial capital dropped to 300 PLN for an annual policy.

In terms of the price per square meter in individual cities, prices rose by as much as 25%. In the case of home insurance policy prices, differences reached nearly 30% over the year. In absolute terms, the average listing price for 1m² of a new apartment in provincial capitals rose from 10,676 PLN to 12,204 PLN within a year. In the secondary market, the jump was from 9,613 PLN in 2023 to 11,112 PLN in 2024. The cheapest insurance in a provincial capital cost an average of 314 PLN in 2023, and exactly 300 PLN in 2024.

Rising apartment prices are not surprising for those interested in buying property. The upward trend has persisted for many years, but the pace of increase varies between cities. Additionally, in many cities, second-hand apartments have risen in price more sharply than new ones. This happens because the centers of major Polish metropolises are largely densely built up, and apartments located in the center are usually from the secondary market and have a convenient location, so demand for them continues to grow. Large cities are often the largest employers in the region, and for this reason, there is also no expectation of a drop in prices per square meter. This may explain why, even in the already most expensive Warsaw, prices for used apartments increased by as much as a quarter over the year.

Prices of Apartments on the Primary Market

New apartments in provincial capitals increased in price by an average of 14.5% per 1m² over the year. All cities recorded growth, but the smallest differences were felt in Szczecin (+6.6%), Bydgoszcz (+6.7%), and Lublin (+9.8%). On the other end of the spectrum were Opole (+24.3%), Zielona Góra (+20.1%), and Łódź (+19.5%).
The most expensive new apartments in 2024 were in Warsaw (16,821 PLN), Kraków (16,569 PLN), and Wrocław (15,275 PLN).
The cheapest cities per 1m² of new apartments in 2024 were Kielce (10,060 PLN), Olsztyn (10,042 PLN), and Zielona Góra (9,130 PLN). The capital of the Lubusz Voivodeship remains the last city offering an average listing price below 10,000 PLN per 1m². A year earlier, Zielona Góra was also the cheapest, with an average price of 7,602 PLN per meter.

Prices of Apartments on the Secondary Market

Second-hand apartments in provincial capitals rose the most in Warsaw. Between 2023 and 2024, this was an increase of 25.1% per 1m². Similarly sharp increases were seen in Lublin (+20.1%) and Opole (+18.8%). Meanwhile, the mildest annual increases were recorded in Gdańsk (+10.3%), Bydgoszcz (+10.7%), and Poznań (+12.3%).
In terms of rates per 1m², the most expensive cities in 2024 were Warsaw (18,709 PLN), Kraków (16,630 PLN), and Gdańsk (14,338 PLN). The same ranking applied in 2023, but the average listing prices were 14,953 PLN, 14,186 PLN, and 12,995 PLN per 1m², respectively.
Cities with the lowest price per square meter for second-hand apartments in 2024 were Bydgoszcz (8,264 PLN), Zielona Góra (8,418 PLN), and Kielce (8,485 PLN). In 2023, these three cities were also the cheapest, but in none of them did the price exceed 7,500 PLN per 1m².

Home Insurance Prices

In property insurance, a downward trend can be observed. Comparing the cheapest offers shows that the premium for 12 months of coverage dropped from 314 PLN in 2023 to 300 PLN in 2024. This is at least how much the average policy cost for residents of provincial capitals.
In 2023, the most expensive cities in this regard were Gdańsk (440 PLN), Zielona Góra (385 PLN), and Opole (339 PLN), while the cheapest were Bydgoszcz (263 PLN), Kielce (265 PLN), and Lublin (273 PLN).
In 2024, annual policy premiums became more even. The most expensive cities to insure property were Rzeszów (336 PLN), Zielona Góra (334 PLN), and Gdańsk (314 PLN), while the cheapest remained Bydgoszcz (260 PLN), Olsztyn (261 PLN), and Łódź (270 PLN).

There are several reasons why residents are opting to spend less on insurance. Real estate in Poland—especially in the largest cities—is increasing in price disproportionately to income, so it’s possible that households are allocating a smaller amount for insurance or simply searching for the cheapest option. The insurance itself is constructed in such a way that unless a property is mortgaged, any sum can be declared. This allows the insured to understate the real value of the home or apartment and thus receive more competitively priced offers. However, this is financially risky and only beneficial in the short term. If our home is worth 500,000 PLN and we insure it for 300,000 PLN, that is exactly how much we will receive in the event of a total loss. That won’t be enough to purchase an apartment of similar standard, since market prices no longer allow for that, and by saving a few dozen PLN annually on the premium, we risk lowering our quality of life. A small consolation may be the fact that residents are aware of changing property values. In Q3 2023, the median sum insured in the rankomat.pl comparison tool was 515,000 PLN, while in the same period from July to September 2024, it was already 550,000 PLN.

What Will 2025 Bring?

The year 2025 will not be a good period for price drops in the housing market—at least not in provincial capitals, where demand for real estate is highest. Nor will the first half of the year bring relief, due to the peak of inflation expected in March to reach 6%, as forecasted by the audit and advisory firm Grant Thornton.
2025 is also a presidential election year, which could be decisive in the event the Safe Credit 0% program is passed by the Sejm and not vetoed by the President. Skeptics argue that, similar to BK2%, the mortgage subsidy program will ultimately lead to higher prices per square meter for new apartments.
A potential increase in apartment prices will also require raising the sum insured and therefore the final premium in the home insurance policy. Typically, an increase in property value of several tens of thousands of PLN means an insurance policy that is a few to several PLN more expensive per year.