Poland completed nearly 209,000 dwellings in 2025, compared with 33,400 in the Czech Republic. Adjusted for population, Poland delivered 5.6 new homes per 1,000 inhabitants against 3.1 in Czechia, a difference of approximately 83%. A similar gap is visible in housing starts: Poland broke ground on 212,400 units in 2025, while Czechia started 35,800, a per-capita gap of around 73%. The figures come from an analysis by ARETE Real Estate.
"The difference can no longer be explained simply by Poland being a larger country. The key is the per-capita calculation. Poland consistently delivers a significantly greater volume of new supply to the market. For housing prices this is fundamental: if demand grows and supply cannot respond, the pressure flows into apartment prices and development land," said Miroslav Barnáš, CIO of ARETE Real Estate.
Retail construction shows a comparable pattern. In the first half of 2026, Poland added approximately 235,000 sqm of new retail space, while Czechia added 38,000 sqm. On a per-capita basis, Poland's pace of new retail development was around 79% higher. At the end of June, a further roughly 650,000 sqm of retail was under construction in Poland, against just under 147,000 sqm in Czechia. Poland also benefits from a larger number of independently functioning regional markets. Alongside Warsaw, active development is taking place in Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Łódź, the Tricity area and Upper Silesia. The eight largest regional office markets outside Warsaw together account for approximately 6.7 million sqm of modern office space, whereas the Czech market is heavily concentrated in Prague. "Poland offers developers the opportunity to replicate one successful concept across a range of cities. You do not have to depend on a single metropolis. This is particularly relevant for retail parks, logistics and residential projects, because a greater number of economically viable locations makes it possible to genuinely scale development," Barnáš added.
Industrial and logistics property represents an exception to the broader trend. Poland holds approximately 38 million sqm of modern logistics space, compared with 13.7 million sqm in Czechia. However, when adjusted for population, the Czech market is actually larger, at roughly 1.26 sqm per inhabitant against 1.02 sqm in Poland. According to ARETE, this demonstrates that the Czech market does not lack capital or capable developers: where suitable land, infrastructure and predictable conditions exist, construction activity can be very strong. Poland's expanding road network, which currently covers approximately 5,600 kilometres of motorways and expressways with a further 1,000 kilometres under construction, is also opening new locations suitable for logistics, manufacturing, retail and residential use.
"The Czech problem is not a shortage of investors willing to build. Logistics proves the opposite. The weakness is rather the limited number of locations where a project can be prepared quickly, predictably and at scale. Poland is considerably better positioned to make use of its size and infrastructure," said Barnáš.
