How expensive are apartments in Warsaw right now?

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Is Warsaw really a PLN 20,000-per-square-metre apartment market now?

Warsaw is getting very close to PLN 20,000/m² for new apartments, but a typical buyer still sees prices closer to PLN 17,000–18,000/m².

The latest completed-month data from RynekPierwotny.pl put the average asking price for new Warsaw apartments at PLN 19,568/m². The median was much lower at PLN 17,400/m². Gratka, which covers both new and existing homes, puts the citywide median at PLN 17,150/m².

That PLN 2,000-plus gap between the developer average and median is important. Expensive projects in central Warsaw pull the average up, so PLN 19,568/m² describes the whole pool of new apartments better than it describes the apartment in the middle of that pool.

For a 50 m² flat, PLN 19,568/m² gives a price near PLN 978,000. At PLN 17,400/m², the same 50 m² comes to PLN 870,000. That is already a difference of more than PLN 100,000.

For someone trying to understand what Warsaw apartments cost today, roughly PLN 17,000–18,000/m² is the more useful starting point. Prime developments can run far beyond that.

How much does a typical apartment in Warsaw cost today?

A normal Warsaw apartment now costs around PLN 850,000, and spending PLN 1 million has become completely ordinary.

Gratka’s latest completed-month data put the median advertised apartment at PLN 850,000. RynekPierwotny.pl puts the average new apartment considerably higher, at about PLN 1.09 million.

Those two numbers look far apart because they measure different pools and because large, expensive developments push up the new-build average. The PLN 850,000 median is closer to what someone browsing the broad Warsaw market will experience.

Small apartments can still come in below PLN 700,000. Gratka currently puts the median studio at about PLN 590,000. Once buyers want two proper rooms, a newer building or a better-connected district, PLN 700,000–900,000 becomes much more common.

Family-sized apartments push the budget higher again. Around PLN 1 million is now a very normal number for three rooms in a good location, while central or premium projects can go far beyond PLN 1.5 million.

Are new apartments in Warsaw actually more expensive than resale apartments?

New Warsaw apartments do not currently carry a huge citywide premium over resale homes, and asking-price data can even make new apartments look cheaper per square metre.

Gratka currently puts the median new-build asking price at PLN 16,757/m², versus PLN 17,703/m² on the secondary market. That gives resale apartments a premium of roughly 6%.

Location explains much of the apparent contradiction. Developers have large projects in Białołęka, Ursus, Targówek and other relatively affordable parts of Warsaw. The resale market contains far more apartments in established central districts where land is scarce and transport links are already mature.

The latest NBP transaction data made the two markets look even closer. Buyers paid roughly PLN 16,475/m² for new apartments and PLN 16,393/m² for resale homes. The difference was only about PLN 80/m².

So buyers should pay much more attention to the district, building and individual apartment than to the simple new-versus-used label. A resale apartment near the centre can easily cost far more than a brand-new flat on Warsaw’s edge.

Are Warsaw sellers actually getting the prices they advertise?

Warsaw sellers are often advertising apartments well above the prices buyers ultimately pay.

The clearest evidence comes from NBP’s transaction database. On the primary market, average asking prices were around PLN 18,056/m² while completed transactions averaged roughly PLN 16,475/m². The gap was about PLN 1,580/m².

It was even wider for resale homes. Average asking prices were close to PLN 18,919/m², compared with roughly PLN 16,393/m² in completed deals. That works out to more than PLN 2,500/m².

On a 50 m² apartment, PLN 2,500/m² represents PLN 125,000. An individual buyer should not assume that every seller will knock PLN 125,000 off the asking price because the advertised and sold samples differ, but the scale tells us something useful: portal prices currently make Warsaw look noticeably more expensive than the prices recorded in actual transactions.

It also fits what buyers are seeing on the ground. Prices are no longer racing upward every few weeks, buyers have more choice, and sellers have less freedom to throw out an ambitious price and expect someone to accept it immediately.

Why are small apartments in Warsaw so expensive per square metre?

Small Warsaw apartments are currently the most expensive homes per square metre because buyers are paying a large premium to keep the total purchase price manageable.

RynekPierwotny.pl currently puts the average new-build studio at about PLN 24,032/m². Two-room apartments average PLN 19,101/m², while three-room units come in around PLN 18,123/m².

A studio therefore costs roughly one-third more per square metre than a three-room apartment.

The total price tells the other half of the story. Gratka puts the median studio at around PLN 590,000. That is still within reach of far more buyers than a PLN 1 million family apartment, even though every square metre costs more.

This is why comparing Warsaw apartments purely by PLN/m² can be misleading. Smaller homes are expensive space, but they remain the cheapest way to enter the market.

What budget do you need for a small apartment in Warsaw?

A budget of roughly PLN 600,000–800,000 can still buy a small Warsaw apartment today, although location and building quality change dramatically within that range.

Gratka’s median studio costs around PLN 590,200, at nearly PLN 19,700/m². On the primary market, the studio median is higher at about PLN 626,000, while resale studios come in near PLN 570,000.

Two-room apartments require a bigger step up. Across Warsaw, buyers should think in terms of roughly PLN 700,000–850,000 for a fairly normal one-bedroom apartment rather than expecting the PLN 500,000 prices that were much easier to find a few years ago.

There are cheaper listings, especially farther from the centre, but they sit below the middle of the market. A PLN 500,000 budget now forces real compromises on size, location, condition or all three.

At around PLN 800,000, the search becomes much easier. At PLN 1 million, buyers start having meaningful choices among larger apartments and stronger locations, although the best central districts can still make PLN 1 million feel surprisingly limited.

Which Warsaw districts are the most expensive right now?

Śródmieście, Wola and Wilanów are currently among the most expensive places to buy an apartment in Warsaw, and the gap with the outer districts is huge.

Gratka’s latest district medians put Śródmieście at about PLN 23,500/m², Wola at PLN 22,200 and Wilanów at PLN 20,000. SonarHome, which uses a different methodology, also ranks Śródmieście first, at roughly PLN 20,700/m², followed by Żoliborz and Wilanów.

The exact values differ between datasets, but the hierarchy is remarkably consistent. Central Warsaw, newer business districts and prestige residential areas command the highest prices.

At PLN 23,500/m², a 50 m² apartment works out to about PLN 1.18 million before transaction and finishing costs. The same calculation at PLN 14,000/m² gives PLN 700,000.

That price gap is so large that asking for the “Warsaw apartment price” without naming a district can hide more than it reveals.

Where can you still find cheaper apartments in Warsaw?

Buyers can still find Warsaw districts around PLN 12,000–14,500/m², and moving outward can save hundreds of thousands of złoty on a normal apartment.

According to Gratka, Wesoła currently has a median around PLN 13,221/m², Wawer around PLN 13,836 and Białołęka around PLN 14,200. SonarHome’s current estimates are even lower in several outer districts, putting Rembertów near PLN 12,200/m², Wesoła around PLN 12,500 and Białołęka around PLN 12,900.

The difference with central Warsaw can approach 40–50% depending on the dataset and property. Take a PLN 800,000 budget. At PLN 13,000/m², it theoretically buys about 62 m². At PLN 20,000/m², it buys 40 m². At PLN 23,500/m², it buys only 34 m².

That is a much bigger financial lever than choosing between a new and resale apartment. Buyers willing to accept a longer commute can gain an extra bedroom, a newer building or substantially lower debt.

The trade-off is obvious in daily life: farther from the centre generally means longer journeys and, in some areas, greater dependence on buses, trains or cars. But the savings are large enough that many households will reasonably make that trade.

Can you still buy a Warsaw apartment for less than PLN 600,000?

Yes, Warsaw apartments below PLN 600,000 still exist, but that budget now puts buyers firmly toward the cheaper end of the market.

The broad citywide median is PLN 850,000, so PLN 600,000 gives a buyer only about 70% of the amount needed for the median advertised apartment.

Studios are the clearest exception. Gratka’s current studio median is approximately PLN 590,000, which means PLN 600,000 still sits around the middle of the one-room market.

Once the buyer wants two rooms, new construction or a strong central location, options shrink quickly. Cheaper districts such as Białołęka, Wawer, Wesoła and Rembertów become much more important.

The practical threshold these days is closer to PLN 700,000–800,000. That budget does not make Warsaw cheap, but it gives buyers a far broader set of small apartments than PLN 600,000 does.

Have Warsaw apartment prices gone up a lot in the last few years?

Warsaw apartments have become roughly one-third more expensive since early 2023 on the secondary market, and most of the damage to affordability happened during one sharp burst.

SonarHome’s Warsaw series was around PLN 11,800/m² in early 2023. Its current estimate is PLN 15,750/m². That is an increase of roughly 33%.

Prices moved especially fast through 2023 and into early 2024. Warsaw crossed from below PLN 12,000/m² to around PLN 15,000/m² in roughly a year.

Since then, the market has been much calmer. SonarHome spent long stretches of 2024 and 2025 around PLN 15,000–15,700/m² rather than repeating the earlier surge.

So two things can be true at once. Warsaw apartments are much more expensive than a few years ago, while buyers looking today are seeing fairly slow month-to-month changes.

The huge affordability shock has already happened. The current question is whether prices can keep creeping higher from this elevated base.

Are Warsaw apartment prices finally falling?

Warsaw apartment prices have softened lately, but we still do not see evidence of a broad price correction.

RynekPierwotny.pl recorded two consecutive monthly declines in the average price of new apartments, with the latest figure down another 1% to PLN 19,568/m². The portal traced much of that decline to cheaper apartments entering the market rather than developers cutting prices across existing projects.

The composition changed, not necessarily the sticker prices. A new batch of apartments averaging around PLN 16,400/m² was enough to pull down the citywide average because the mix of available properties changed.

Other datasets look similarly calm. Gratka’s citywide median slipped just 0.08% in its latest completed month. SonarHome kept its Warsaw estimate unchanged at PLN 15,750/m² month on month, although it is still about 5% above the beginning of the year.

As seen above, actual NBP transactions also sit well below many asking prices. Buyers therefore have more room to negotiate than during the hottest part of the boom.

For now, “flat” is a better description of Warsaw than “falling.” Some prices are slipping, sellers have less power, and the market feels easier to shop, but Warsaw has yet to produce the sustained declines needed to call this a real correction.

Is the PLN 19,568 new-build average making Warsaw look more expensive than it really is?

Yes, Warsaw’s current new-build average is being pulled upward enough that the median gives most buyers a more realistic picture.

The average new apartment is advertised at PLN 19,568/m², while the median is PLN 17,400/m². The average is therefore around 12% higher.

Premium stock explains much of that difference. Expensive central developments can easily run above PLN 25,000/m², while studios themselves average more than PLN 24,000/m². Both groups pull the overall figure higher.

The latest supply changes make the effect particularly easy to see. When relatively affordable new apartments averaging about PLN 16,400/m² entered the Warsaw market, the citywide average fell even though developers had not broadly cut their existing price lists.

So when someone says “new apartments in Warsaw cost nearly PLN 20,000/m²,” the statement is mathematically correct. A buyer searching for something fairly ordinary should still start closer to the PLN 17,400 median and then adjust for district, size and standard.

How expensive is Warsaw compared with other Polish cities?

Warsaw is still Poland’s most expensive major apartment market, although Kraków comes much closer than most people might expect.

The latest comparable NBP transaction data put Warsaw around PLN 16,393/m² for resale apartments and PLN 16,475/m² for new ones. Kraków was roughly PLN 15,110 and PLN 15,384 respectively.

Warsaw was therefore only about 8% more expensive than Kraków on resale transactions. The gap becomes much larger once we move farther down the ranking.

Resale transactions averaged around PLN 13,870/m² in Gdańsk, PLN 12,632 in Wrocław, PLN 10,677 in Poznań and PLN 7,971 in Łódź. Warsaw was roughly 30% more expensive than Wrocław, 54% more expensive than Poznań and more than twice as expensive as Łódź.

Warsaw and Kraków now occupy their own expensive tier within Poland. For a buyer coming from most other Polish cities, Warsaw prices still represent a major jump.

Can someone on an average Warsaw salary actually afford these apartments?

One average Warsaw salary still falls far short of making a typical apartment comfortable to buy.

The Statistical Office in Warsaw currently puts the city’s average gross monthly salary at PLN 11,392.64. Gratka’s median apartment price is PLN 850,000.

That apartment therefore costs nearly 75 months’ worth of one average employee’s entire gross salary, or a little over six years of income before taxes and before spending anything on normal life.

Using a simple 50 m² apartment at PLN 17,150/m² gives a price of about PLN 857,500, almost exactly the same order of magnitude.

A dual-income household changes the equation significantly, especially if both people earn around or above the Warsaw average and already have a deposit. For a single average earner, however, Warsaw ownership remains difficult without substantial savings.

There has been some improvement lately. Warsaw wages are rising faster than several apartment-price measures, while transaction prices have largely stopped surging. Affordability can slowly recover if that gap continues, but the starting point remains expensive after the huge increase in housing prices since 2023.

So how expensive are apartments in Warsaw right now?

Warsaw apartments are genuinely expensive today: around PLN 17,000–18,000/m² is a realistic mainstream benchmark, roughly PLN 850,000 buys the median advertised apartment, and PLN 1 million is now a normal housing budget rather than a luxury one.

The PLN 19,568/m² headline for new apartments needs context. It is the current developer average, while the developer median is PLN 17,400/m² and the broad Gratka median is PLN 17,150/m². Actual transaction benchmarks have also been lower than many asking prices.

Where you buy changes the answer enormously. Outer districts can still sit around PLN 12,000–14,000/m² in some datasets. Śródmieście is above PLN 20,000/m² even on broad market estimates, and premium new developments can go much higher.

Size changes it again. Studios can exceed PLN 20,000/m² while keeping the total bill near PLN 600,000. Larger apartments give buyers more space for every złoty per square metre but easily push the total above PLN 1 million.

Warsaw has also stopped getting dramatically more expensive every few months. Current prices are relatively stable, asking prices leave room for negotiation, and salaries are gaining ground faster than some housing measures.

Our best shorthand today is therefore about PLN 17,000–18,000 per square metre and PLN 850,000 for a typical apartment. Buyers below PLN 600,000 will have to compromise heavily. Around PLN 800,000 opens a much more credible search. Central, large or premium apartments can quickly move past PLN 1 million and sometimes far beyond it.

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INVESTROPA

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