Cushman & Wakefield has analysed the findings of a survey carried out by SW Research on a representative sample of the inhabitants of the largest Polish cities. Polish people are increasingly choosing to rent as home prices have reached sky-high levels; additionally, they favour renting for its flexibility and convenience.
The survey commissioned by Cushman & Wakefield has clearly revealed that the home rental market is far larger and more active than official figures would suggest. The survey carried out on a representative sample of the inhabitants of Poland’s six largest cities shows that 18% of the respondents are renting a flat or a house (567 out of 3,078).
“The residential market is red hot and homes on the new-build market are selling out almost as soon as a building permit is secured, with prices rising by the quarter. Buyer activity is gathering pace, driven by low interest rates and cheap lending. Spiralling prices are, however, benefiting the home rental market, which has become tenant-friendly on account of the pandemic. Rents have fallen almost across the board and there are real bargains to be found in adverts. Poland continues to lag behind its western neighbours, but the number of home renters has been rising by the year and looks set to grow,” says Karolina Furmańska, Senior Residential Analyst, Consulting & Research and Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield
Over 42% of the respondents in Cushman & Wakefield’s survey - and 43% of those wanting to rent a flat in the next 12 months - believe that home prices are too high and therefore they tend to favour renting over buying a home. Another 11% of all the respondents (and as many as 41% of those intending to rent a flat over the year ahead) lack creditworthiness.
More than 29% of those planning to rent a flat over the coming year would prefer not to make long-term commitments to home ownership.
Close to 30% of the respondents value renting for its flexibility and an opportunity to move quickly. The convenience of not having to think about repairs and other issues of home ownership is important to 26%. Work is an equally important factor. Nearly 28% of the respondents intending to rent a flat do not know where they will be working in a few years’ time, and 10% have jobs that require them to relocate frequently.
“The private rented sector continues to grow apace. Given the build-to-rent development pipeline, this sector is expected to attract growing numbers of renters in the coming years. At present, more than half of the respondents strongly prefer to rent from a private landlord rather than an institutional operator. So, there is still some work to be done here,” says Karolina Furmańska, Senior Residential Analyst, Cushman & Wakefield.
The survey questionnaire was prepared on the basis of issues raised by residential market experts of Cushman & Wakefield and the survey was carried out using the CAWI method (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) on the users of the online SW Panel between 19-24 March 2021 and 9-20 April 2021. The sample included 3,078 Polish citizens aged 18+ in six cities (Warsaw, Krakow, Poznań, Łódź, Tricity, and Wrocław). More in-depth questions were asked to 1,031 respondents who were renting or planning to rent a home; the demographic profile of the sample is in line with that of renters in large cities.
