Franc reality depresses home sales

The soaring value of the Swiss franc after the euro rate cap was removed last week does not only present problems for those in Poland paying mortgage instalments in this currency – it also has repercussions for the entire real estate sector. This can be seen in the stagnation in the market for homes built when mortgages denominated in Swiss francs were popular, that is, in 2006–2008. The peak came in 2008, when the proportion of mortgages denominated in the currency came to almost 80 pct in some areas. In this period the exchange rate varied between PLN 1.95 and PLN 2.50 – today it is around PLN 4.26. According to Metrohouse, homes built in the 2005–2009 period constitute app. 10 pct of all those on sale at this time. In order to sell such a home at a profit it is now necessary to increase the price to take account of the increased mortgage payments, but this is entirely unrealistic under the current market conditions. Buyers who are looking for new apartments o