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Is it smart to buy an apartment in Warsaw’s old “Mordor”?

Is Warsaw’s old “Mordor” really turning into a residential neighbourhood?

Yes. Służewiec is already far enough into its residential transformation that buying there today is no longer a bet on whether the old “Mordor” will change.

The scale is hard to dismiss. Cushman & Wakefield estimates that the Służewiec population has gone from roughly 15,000 people in 2015 to more than 31,000 today. It could pass 40,000 by 2030. More than 4,000 additional apartments are expected over the next five years.

We can see the change block by block. Archicom has already delivered hundreds of apartments at Modern Mokotów on land that used to belong to the office district, and its current investment page still shows more than 300 homes for sale there. At Domaniewska 52, Uno Group is trying to replace an ageing office property with roughly 395 to 429 apartments, 12 commercial units and more than 4,000 m² of greenery. Public consultation on that project took place recently, so this is still a proposed development rather than something buyers should treat as guaranteed.

What makes Służewiec unusual is the cumulative scale. Another isolated apartment building would barely change an office park. Thousands of homes, shops, a school, student housing and institutional rental buildings do.

The old image of Mordor as somewhere people flood into at 8:30 and abandon after work is increasingly out of date. Parts of Służewiec still look exactly like that, but the neighbourhood as a whole no longer does.

Służewiec transformation	Scale	What it tells us	Status
Population around 2015	~15,000	Small residential base	Historical
Population today	31,000+	More than doubled	Current estimate
Expected population by 2030	40,000+	Growth should continue	Forecast
Homes expected over five years	4,000+	Major residential pipeline	Planned / under construction
Domaniewska 52	~395–429 homes	Another office-to-housing conversion	Proposed

Are Służewiec’s empty offices still a serious problem?

Yes, but much less than they were. Służewiec still has one of Warsaw’s highest office vacancy rates, although the latest numbers show a clear improvement.

AXI IMMO measured vacancy at 20.4% in early 2025. BNP Paribas Real Estate put it at 17% in the second quarter of 2026. That is a drop of 3.4 percentage points in roughly 15 months.

Seventeen percent is still high. Warsaw as a whole is currently at only 8.5%, while central Warsaw is below 5%. So no, Służewiec has not suddenly become a hot office market again.

Yet companies have hardly abandoned the place. According to CBRE, Służewiec accounted for 22% of Warsaw office demand in the latest quarter, second only to the western part of the city centre. JLL had already found that Służewiec represented 23% of Warsaw leasing activity across 2025.

There is one important weakness behind those numbers: many companies are staying rather than moving in. More than 60% of Służewiec leasing activity in 2025 came from renewals. Still, an office district where tenants renew leases and vacancy is falling looks very different from one entering a downward spiral.

The most likely outcome is a smaller office hub rather than the disappearance of offices altogether. Cushman & Wakefield expects more than 200,000 m² of Służewiec office space to disappear by 2030 compared with the 2020 peak, mostly as older buildings lose their reason to exist.

Office indicator	Earlier level	Latest level	Reading
Służewiec vacancy	20.4%	17%	Clearly improving
Warsaw vacancy	10.5%	8.5%	Citywide market also tightening
Central Warsaw vacancy	—	4.8%	Służewiec still far weaker
Służewiec share of latest quarterly demand	—	22%	Still a major office location
Służewiec share of 2025 demand	—	23%	Demand has remained substantial

Is Służewiec still cheap for Warsaw?

No. Anyone buying Służewiec today because “Mordor must be cheap” is starting from an outdated assumption.

SonarHome currently estimates apartments in Służewiec at roughly PLN 19,291/m². Its estimate was around PLN 18,235/m² a year earlier, which works out to an increase of about 5.8%. Since the start of 2026, its series is up 3.6%.

The current developer market looks similar. RynekPierwotny has 270 new apartments for sale across five Służewiec projects. Studios average about PLN 20,908/m², two-room apartments PLN 18,356/m² and three-room units PLN 17,181/m².

That is not bargain territory. In fact, Cushman & Wakefield found that developer asking prices in Służewiec were already around 15% above the Warsaw average in the second quarter of 2025.

There are still cheaper individual buildings and streets, which we will get to, but the neighbourhood-wide discount has largely disappeared. Buyers today are paying for a regeneration story that quite a few other buyers have already noticed.

New Służewiec apartment type	Current average PLN/m²	Average total price	Current supply
Studio	20,908	PLN 533,692	26
2 rooms	18,356	PLN 758,296	102
3 rooms	17,181	PLN 967,952	129
4 rooms	17,207	PLN 1,231,239	7
5+ rooms	16,314	PLN 1,429,679	6

Has the old Mordor regeneration story already been priced in?

A large part of it has. We would no longer buy Służewiec simply because its reputation still sounds worse than the neighbourhood looks.

One of the clearest clues came from developer sales. According to Cushman & Wakefield, half of all new apartments sold across Mokotów in the second quarter of 2025 were in Służewiec. That is extraordinary for one part of the district.

Current pricing points the same way. SonarHome ranks Służewiec as the most expensive of the Mokotów sub-areas in its present dataset. Its estimated price has also risen over the past year despite a much softer Warsaw housing market than during the earlier boom.

At the same time, buyers are hardly being forced into bidding wars. SonarHome estimates roughly 154 active resale listings and an average listing life of 104 days. On the primary market, only 52 of the 270 homes currently advertised by RynekPierwotny are ready to move into; another 218 are still being built.

So the area is no longer ignored, but buyers still have enough inventory and enough time to be picky. Negotiation and apartment selection matter more here than trying to guess whether the whole neighbourhood will suddenly become fashionable.

Where in Służewiec you buy matters more than the “Mordor” label

A lot more. Current Służewiec prices vary so much by street that using one neighbourhood average can lead to a bad purchase.

SonarHome currently estimates Suwak at roughly PLN 16,512/m² and Bokserska at PLN 17,717/m². Cybernetyki and Wołoska sit around PLN 18,000–18,200. Konstruktorska is just above PLN 20,000, while Domaniewska exceeds PLN 22,000 and Wynalazek roughly PLN 23,500.

That is a spread of about PLN 7,000/m² between Suwak and Wynalazek. On a 50 m² apartment, the difference is roughly PLN 350,000. That’s a pretty big gap for streets inside the same neighbourhood.

Some of that reflects newer buildings, unit quality and the limitations of automated price estimates. It also shows why “Should I buy in Mordor?” is almost too broad a question.

In Służewiec, we care a great deal about the last few hundred metres. Can you walk comfortably to a tram or railway station? Does the bedroom face a courtyard or six lanes of traffic? Are the neighbouring plots already built, or can an office block disappear and become a construction site? Are there shops and normal streets nearby, or mostly office entrances and parking ramps?

Those differences can easily matter more than whether two properties technically belong to the same neighbourhood.

Służewiec street	Current estimated PLN/m²	Gap vs Służewiec average	General price position
Suwak	16,512	-14%	Relatively cheap
Bokserska	17,717	-8%	Below average
Cybernetyki	18,029	-7%	Below average
Postępu	18,809	-2%	Around average
Konstruktorska	20,064	+4%	Above average
Domaniewska	22,121	+15%	Expensive
Wynalazek	23,543	+22%	Very expensive

Is Służewiec actually a good place to rent out an apartment?

Yes. Rental demand is one of the strongest reasons to consider buying in Służewiec today.

Adresowo’s latest available neighbourhood data put the median advertised Służewiec rent at around PLN 92/m² a month. The Warsaw median in the same dataset was PLN 79/m². That would put Służewiec roughly 16% higher.

We should be careful with the exact figure because neighbourhood rental samples can be small. The broader demand case is much harder to dismiss. Służewiec combines a large employment base, direct tram and rail connections, quick access to Chopin Airport, a rapidly growing resident population and a concentration of relatively young housing.

The professional rental market has reached the same conclusion. Cushman & Wakefield counts nearly 2,000 institutional rental apartments already operating in Służewiec, with roughly 1,200 more planned. The neighbourhood accounts for about one fifth of Warsaw’s PRS stock.

At a purchase valuation of PLN 19,291/m² and advertised rent around PLN 92/m², a very rough gross yield comes to about 5.7%. That is before service charges, furnishing, vacancy, repairs, tax and transaction costs, so it should not be mistaken for the investor’s actual return.

Still, a gross figure in that range makes Służewiec more interesting as a rental purchase than some expensive Warsaw neighbourhoods where the price premium is much greater than the rent premium.

Will institutional landlords make it harder to rent a private apartment in Służewiec?

Yes, especially if we buy the same small generic apartment that professional landlords are already offering by the hundreds.

Służewiec’s huge PRS presence is reassuring because it confirms real rental demand. But institutional landlords are also competitors. They can offer new buildings, professional maintenance, standardised contracts, furnished apartments and fast leasing.

Private student housing is growing too. Cushman & Wakefield counted roughly 1,100 existing private student beds and more than 1,000 additional beds being developed.

That is why we would be cautious with an expensive studio bought purely on the assumption that “young professionals will always rent it.” RynekPierwotny currently puts the average new Służewiec studio at about PLN 20,908/m², compared with PLN 17,181/m² for a three-room apartment. The studio premium is roughly 22% per square metre.

Paying the highest price per metre to enter the part of the rental market facing the most professional competition is not an especially attractive setup.

A good two-bedroom layout, a quieter apartment, proper storage, a balcony or an apartment suited to a couple staying several years can make more sense than simply choosing the smallest unit the budget allows.

Will thousands of new Służewiec apartments push prices down?

Probably not across the whole neighbourhood, although some existing apartments will face much tougher competition.

The latest pipeline is large enough to matter, but Służewiec is also adding residents quickly. This is not a district building thousands of homes while its population shrinks.

New housing also has a strange double effect here: it adds competition and often improves the immediate area at the same time. Replacing an obsolete office and a paved plot with several hundred homes, shops, paths and greenery can make neighbouring apartments more desirable.

Domaniewska 52 gives us a good example. The current proposal would replace an older office property with close to 400–430 homes, 12 commercial spaces, an open courtyard, roughly 60 new trees and more than 35% biologically active land. If it goes ahead, nearby owners gain a new competitor but also lose an ageing office site.

The risk is highest for mediocre apartments that already trade close to new-build prices. If someone pays almost PLN 20,000/m² for an older, noisy unit with a weak layout, a brand-new development appearing nearby can be painful.

For buyers getting a genuine resale discount, the calculation is much more comfortable.

Has Służewiec finally become a good place to live?

Parts of Służewiec are genuinely good places to live now, although the experience still changes dramatically from one street to another.

The neighbourhood has much more everyday infrastructure than the old Mordor stereotype suggests. Cushman & Wakefield counts more than 1,100 retail, service and public-service points across the area. Westfield Mokotów remains a major commercial anchor, while newer projects increasingly put shops and services at street level.

The family argument has improved too. Primary School No. 119 now operates from Konstruktorska 10 and is accepting pupils for the current school year. The new building was designed for about 450 children, with 19 classrooms, a gym, library and canteen. That is the kind of infrastructure an office park simply did not have.

Newer developments are also being designed for more than investors buying studios. Almost 48% of the apartments currently advertised by developers on RynekPierwotny are three-room units, while studios account for less than 10%.

But we should not romanticise Służewiec. Large roads, office façades, parking entrances and construction plots remain part of daily life. Someone who loves the mature streets, parks and old architecture of traditional Mokotów will probably still prefer those areas.

Służewiec today works better for people who value a modern apartment, transport and everyday convenience more than historic urban atmosphere.

Is public transport in Służewiec good enough without a metro station?

Yes. Służewiec already has strong enough public transport that a future metro should be treated as a bonus rather than the reason to buy.

The tram network is the easiest part to see. Domaniewska, Wołoska and the surrounding corridor provide direct connections toward central Warsaw and M1 metro interchanges.

Warszawa Służewiec railway station adds another layer. SKM services connect the area with Chopin Airport and several parts of Warsaw, while regional trains expand the options further.

That gives Służewiec something many outer residential developments lack: more than one useful way out. If one route is inconvenient, residents can combine tram, rail, bus and metro connections.

A future Służewiec station is planned as part of Warsaw’s proposed M4 metro line. We would put almost no investment value on that today. Large metro projects can change route, timing and priority long before trains begin running.

The existing network is already good enough for the apartment to make sense. Anything built later should be upside.

Are Służewiec’s famous traffic jams still a reason not to buy?

They are a reason to avoid the wrong apartment, rather than a reason to avoid Służewiec completely.

The big roads have not disappeared. Domaniewska, Marynarska, Wołoska and Postępu still carry a lot of traffic, and some apartments get the noise and visual downside directly.

What has improved is the choice residents have besides driving. The tram network is much stronger than during peak Mordor years, Służewiec railway station is genuinely useful, and new cycling links have gradually filled some gaps.

The residential shift should also make travel flows less absurdly one-directional over time. Thousands of office workers used to arrive together in the morning and leave together after work. Adding permanent residents creates trips in both directions throughout the day.

That does not magically make Domaniewska quiet.

For us, the sweet spot is close to the transport corridor without facing it directly. Two apartments can be five minutes apart on foot and have completely different noise levels.

Are small apartments still the safest investment in Służewiec?

No. Small apartments currently look more expensive than their supposed safety justifies.

The developer inventory makes this visible. Studios average about PLN 20,900/m², while two-room units are around PLN 18,400 and three-room apartments around PLN 17,200. Buyers are paying a large price-per-metre premium for the smallest format.

Meanwhile, almost 86% of the current developer supply consists of two- and three-room apartments. Developers are clearly building Służewiec for ordinary households as well as investors.

That broadening of the neighbourhood is good for Służewiec itself, but it weakens the old investment formula of buying the tiniest unit possible near an office cluster.

A studio can still work if the purchase price is excellent. At today’s prices, however, we would rather examine compact two-room apartments and efficient three-room layouts, especially when the buyer may eventually resell to an owner-occupier.

That gives the apartment more than one exit route.

What Służewiec apartments would we avoid today?

We would avoid any Służewiec apartment whose price assumes the neighbourhood is already finished.

The easiest example is an older apartment priced almost like a strong new development despite traffic exposure, mediocre common areas or a weak floor plan. There is too much competing supply for that to make sense.

We would also inspect neighbouring plots carefully. Służewiec still contains plenty of offices and underused land that may be redeveloped. Buying a sunny open view without checking what can legally appear opposite it is asking for trouble.

High service charges deserve attention as well. Many newer Warsaw developments come with lifts, underground garages, security, landscaped common areas and complicated building systems. Those amenities are nice until monthly charges eat deeply into rental returns.

And we would be particularly reluctant to pay a premium solely because a sales agent mentions the future M4 metro. The apartment has to work with Służewiec as it exists today.

The properties that interest us most are almost the opposite: sensible resale pricing, quiet orientation, efficient layout, good access to an existing tram or railway station and immediate surroundings that are either already pleasant or have a very concrete redevelopment path.

Is Służewiec better for a five-year or a ten-year purchase?

Służewiec makes more sense with a long holding period because the neighbourhood still has several years of messy redevelopment ahead.

A buyer holding for only two or three years can easily get unlucky. A neighbouring construction project may begin, Warsaw prices may be flat when they need to sell, or a wave of new apartments may compete with their unit at exactly the wrong moment.

A longer owner gets more time for those same projects to become finished streets, shops, landscaping and occupied homes.

Służewiec is already expensive enough that we would not count on another easy reputational jump. Future returns should depend more on actual neighbourhood improvement and the quality of the apartment itself.

For a ten-year owner-occupier who likes the location, that is perfectly reasonable. For a speculative buyer hoping to flip after two years, we see much less room for error.

So, is it smart to buy an apartment in Warsaw’s old “Mordor” today?

Yes, selectively. We think buying a good apartment in Służewiec today can be smart, but buying “Mordor” as a generic regeneration bet is already too late.

The strongest part of the case is that the transformation now shows up in real behaviour. More people live here, obsolete offices are being removed, office vacancy has fallen, developers are building normal family-sized apartments, public infrastructure has improved and professional landlords have committed heavily to the area.

The weak point is the price. Służewiec is currently around PLN 19,300/m² in SonarHome’s estimate, and some streets are well above PLN 20,000. Buyers have already paid for a meaningful part of the neighbourhood’s improvement.

That pushes us toward resale apartments rather than automatically toward shiny new developments. A property around Cybernetyki, Bokserska, Suwak or another well-connected micro-location can become very interesting if its price sits clearly below premium new-build levels and the apartment itself has no obvious flaw. Domaniewska or Konstruktorska can also work, but the higher starting price leaves less room for mistakes.

For rental investors, demand is strong, although the huge institutional rental sector makes generic studios less compelling than they once looked. For someone buying a home, Służewiec is considerably easier to recommend now that schools, shops, transport and normal residential life have caught up with construction.

The old Mordor discount has largely gone. The remaining opportunity comes from choosing an apartment better than the market average, on the right street, at a price that still leaves something for the buyer rather than giving all the future upside to the seller.

So yes, we would buy in Warsaw’s old Mordor today. We just would not buy blindly.

Who is the author of this content?

INVESTROPA

A team researching how property purchases actually go wrong across Europe

We are a team of real estate researchers and local specialists focused on helping people avoid expensive mistakes when buying property abroad, particularly in Warsaw. If you’d like to learn more about us, you can check our presentation page.