Zakopane is Poland’s most celebrated mountain resort. I visited the town for the first time just a few months ago and can say with first-hand experience that it’s just as wonderful as made up to be: a bustling high street, charming architecture, plenty of greener and great hiking trails.
As someone who has invested in a few pieces of property elsewhere in Poland, it did get me thinking: what’s the property market like in Zakopane? What sorts of property can you buy, what are prices like now and how are they trending, and what else is there to bear in mind? After some extensive research, here are my answers to those questions.
What Can You Buy in Zakopane?
As you might expect, you can find listings for all sorts of property in Zakopane, from studio apartments to single-family houses, business premises to garages, and more. However, one thing Zakopane is in short supply of is land itself. Needless to say, this drives prices up, but from an availability standpoint this means that there are very few plots of land (for all purposes) listed for sale.
Zakopane Property Market Prices
Obviously the prices of property in Zakopane depend a lot on the exact location, the building’s standard, and so on. Nevertheless, I’ve calculated some average prices for three of the most common categories of property in Zakopane as of August 2023.
For a second-hand apartment in good condition in a central area of Zakopane, you can expect to pay an average of 15-20K PLN per square meter. These apartments are usually in smaller, older buildings.
For a new build apartment in a central area, which is likely to have an unfinished interior (stan deweloperski), expect to pay about 25-30K PLN per square meter. Nowadays building standards are quite high in Poland, so the building itself is usually well-insulated and communal areas are maintained to a high standard.
As for houses (including guesthouses), buildings in reasonable condition tend to be listed for around 10-15K PLN per square meter. Note that parking is likely to be limited due to aforementioned space constraints.
Since there’s so little commercial real estate or land for sale in Zakopane, there’s not really enough data to calculate a representative average, so I’ll restrain from doing so.
Outlook for Zakopane Property Market
I’m optimistic on the Polish property market as a whole, and the local Zakopane market is no exception for me. Over the last 10 years, it seems real estate prices in Zakopane have practically doubled (in some cases, near-tripled).
I see no reason why property in Zakopane won’t continue to appreciate 5-10% a year, given the short supply of land. Not to mention, with Poland’s growing economy and the increasing wealth of its citizens, demand for resort properties may cause further compounding in price appreciation.