The proximity of educational and public institutions, shops, and maybe green areas? What criterion is important in choosing a place to live and what do we expect today, and what criteria were used in the past? How have the preferences of buyers changed since the beginning of 2022? We looked at the research from over a decade to see how the housing needs of Poles have changed, and we asked an expert from the real estate market for a comment.
More than 10 or 15 years ago, good communication with other districts or the proximity of educational, service and cultural institutions was important for less than a quarter of CBOS respondents. According to the study “How Poles live and how they would like to live”, the most important criterion for choosing a flat was a positive assessment of the functionality of the building inside – its comfort, spaciousness and sunlight. This criterion was indicated as the most important by over 56% of respondents in 2010, while 1/3 of respondents pointed to the amount of greenery and space around the building. Aesthetic issues, such as the style of the surrounding buildings and building integration into the building, or social issues (e.g. the degree of organization of the local community) played a marginal role at that time (only 2% of respondents). In 2021, as various reports show, when looking for a flat, we approached the subject much more holistically – we no longer focused only on the layout or size, and although the price played a significant role, external factors – the proximity of green areas, shops and places needed to satisfy everyday needs – they were important for our comfort.
Creating a friendly living space:
As shown by last year’s report of real estate services, as a result of the experiences related to the pandemic, we attach increasing importance to whether the apartment has a balcony, terrace or garden, which is also confirmed by the latest report “I would live. What do Poles expect from home? ” developed by Think Co. According to the latter study, green areas (parks, squares and forests) are the most important criteria for our “dream apartment”, indicated by 32% of people looking for a flat or thinking about changing.
“Due to the fact that our estates are places to live for thousands of people, it is important for us to listen to the needs of future residents. That is why we have created our own Green Standard, which includes pro-ecological solutions that help to care for the environment and reduce the costs of everyday life. It includes the construction of green areas, parks, playgrounds, and recreation areas for adults. Creating flower meadows, planting trees and honey-bearing shrubs and flowers, setting up ponds or installing insect houses and bird boxes are just a few of the elements that are included in our investments,” comments Anna Wojciechowska, Head of ESG, ROBYG Sales and Marketing Director Gdańsk and Poznań. “We are aware of customer expectations and challenges related to climate protection, which are very often combined and have a real impact on the appearance of our estates,” he adds.
Functionally and smart:
What else do we take into account today when we think about a new apartment? The ability to settle current affairs and people living in the neighborhood are two factors indicated by 15% of respondents in the report “I would live”, and the appearance of nearby buildings is important for 10%. On the other hand, those who bought an apartment from the primary or secondary market in 2021 were largely driven by the number of rooms and the layout of the apartment – for half of those surveyed by real estate services, this was a key factor.
Although the functionality of a flat is still important to Poles, for example, 24% of respondents indicate insolation as an important factor of the “dream apartment” – other, modern functionalities, unavailable or not so popular 10 or 15 years ago, also come to the fore. Smart House technologies are already dreamed of by 6% of respondents, and as many as 10% of respondents would like to have ecological house solutions in their “dream apartment”.
“Customers are increasingly asking about the ROBYG Smart House by Keemple system because they have heard about the savings that can be made from the home budget during the year. The technology that we offer as standard actually allows you to reduce bills by up to 30%, and taking into account other solutions for low-emission construction that we implement in housing estates, we can confidently say that we are responding to today’s energy-saving needs,” adds Anna Wojciechowska.
The aforementioned studies, however, reflect the reality and expectations of buyers from a few months ago. Today, what matters is whether the buyer can afford a loan and what price level he is willing to accept.
“The changing economic conditions and geopolitical situation have changed the profile of buyers and purchase preferences on the real estate market. Today, two groups dominate among buyers: investors looking for real estate up to 40 sqm in an apartment building at a competitive price for rent and people looking for unique apartments for living. The decreasing creditworthiness and interest rates on loans mean that few purchases are made on credit. Most transactions are cash purchases,” says Anna Wojciechowska from ROBYG. “Factors such as the functional layout, green surroundings, the ability to remotely manage devices in the apartment are of course important and are important when comparing offers by buyers, but the most important selection criteria in my opinion today are: unique location or a view from the windows for people choosing a flat to live in or the price, when the buyer is an investor,” says Anna Wojciechowska.
The changes are certain:
The growing ecological awareness of Poles and interest in technological novelties are certainly new factors that a few years ago were not heard when choosing a place to live, and whose importance will increase in the future. Although today, due to the changing real estate market, they have temporarily faded into the background, they are certainly still important. And while the price or area will invariably be taken into account by buyers or landlords, we will also pay more attention to whether the entire estate will be green and “smart” and what current needs it will satisfy.
