Kraków new apartment prices top Warsaw at 17,828 PLN per square metre in September

Kraków surpasses Warsaw in September transaction prices

In September 2026, the average price of newly sold apartments in Kraków reached 17,828 PLN per square metre, according to a housing market report from Otodom. This figure exceeded the average transaction price in Warsaw, where buyers paid 17,767 PLN per square metre during the same month. In Kraków, the average transaction rate climbed more than 5% above the city's average asking price.

Katarzyna Kuniewicz explained the distribution of buyer purchases across price tiers:

The relationship between the average price of sold apartments and offer prices largely stems from transaction structure, meaning which units actually find buyers. When cheaper apartments are purchased more frequently, relatively more expensive units remain on offer. If, however, demand concentrates on apartments from the higher price segment, as in September in Kraków, that relationship reverses.

Price movements across regional urban centers

Warsaw recorded an opposite price dynamic compared to Kraków. The capital's average transaction price of 17,767 PLN per square metre fell 1,916 PLN per square metre below its average asking price of 19,683 PLN per square metre, representing the widest spread among the surveyed markets. Both Warsaw and Łódź experienced month-on-month declines in transaction prices in September, largely following record price levels recorded in August 2026.

Other metropolitan markets demonstrated distinct movements during the period. In Tricity, the average price of sold apartments rose to 17,288 PLN per square metre, approaching the average asking rate of 17,805 PLN per square metre while remaining below the peak recorded in June 2026. Meanwhile, transaction price levels in Poznań approached the records set in March 2025.

Developer inventory shifts toward lower-priced units

Developers changed their pricing strategies during the third quarter of 2026 after three quarters of high-priced project releases. Across the first six months of the year, construction companies introduced residential developments priced higher than the apartments already available on the market, pushing up average asking rates. The third quarter brought a reversal of this practice, as homebuilders began introducing more budget-friendly developments to replenish their portfolios.

Kuniewicz detailed the quarterly transition in supply dynamics:

Only once in the past six years have we seen a quarter as surprising in terms of average price relationships as the third quarter of 2026, and that was a year ago. After three quarters of expensive launches, the third quarter brought a time of replenishing the offer with relatively cheaper projects.

Quarterly averages across seven key markets

Across Poland's seven primary urban markets, newly launched housing units in the third quarter entered the market at an average rate of 15,869 PLN per square metre. This figure was lower than the average asking price across all active listings, which stood at 16,231 PLN per square metre. It was also lower than the average transaction price for developer-built units sold during the quarter, which reached 16,101 PLN per square metre.

The introduction of lower-priced projects indicates that developers are replenishing their housing stock with units from the popular segment. In Kraków and Tricity, average prices of sold units rose sharply in September, mirroring trends observed in Warsaw one month earlier, while Warsaw and Łódź saw monthly transaction prices ease after late-summer highs.