Trends in single-family construction

For many years, unfinished single-family houses have been part of the landscape in various regions of the country. Among these buildings, you can find both those that, despite visible deficiencies, e.g. an unfinished facade, are already in use and perform residential functions, as well as those whose construction has stopped at the stage before it was possible to move into them. We are talking about buildings erected by so-called individual investors, i.e. people who decide to build a house mainly to meet their own housing needs, and not for commercial purposes.

There are many reasons why the completion of a single-family home is delayed or even impossible to achieve. A common reason is the overly ambitious plans of individual investors who, at the design stage, did not take into account all the risks associated with the construction process. Sometimes, they initially assume too much square footage or choose complicated solutions that in practice turn out to be difficult to implement within the specified budget. The rising costs of building materials and labour are also significant, and in recent years have significantly affected the total expenses associated with building a house.

It is worth noting that the relationship between the usable area of ​​a house and the total cost of its construction is directly proportional – the larger the area, the higher the costs. Overly ambitious plans for the construction of a house with a large area and high standard often lead to a situation in which the construction stretches over time, and its final visual effect significantly differs from the initial intentions. It happens that the final result does not meet expectations, and the house remains unfinished.

However, the latest data from the Statistics Poland show that in recent years, individual investors have increasingly approached building their own home with greater realism and pragmatism. There is a noticeable trend towards more sensible planning and building of houses that are better suited to the financial possibilities of investors and actual housing needs, which can result in a more stable and efficient course of the entire construction process.

Between 2013 and 2023, the average duration of building a single-family home in Poland fell from 57.9 months to 51.3 months, what means decrease from 4.8 to 4.3 years, or about 11%. This is an average annual decrease of about 1%. These changes, although seemingly small, indicate a noticeable improvement in the efficiency of building single-family homes. At the regional level, the largest decrease in the duration of building a single-family home was recorded in Dolnośląskie voivodeship, where the construction time decreased by 31.6%. Decreases of more than 20% were also recorded in other voivodeships, such as Podkarpackie (-25.9%), Śląskie (-25.4%), Kujawsko-pomorskie (-24.8%), Zachodniopomorskie (-23.6%), Lubelskie (-22.3%) and Wielkopolskie (-20.4%).

In turn, four voivodships recorded an extension of construction time. In two of them, the increase was small, not exceeding 1%, while in Łódzkie voivodeship the increase was as much as 45.7%, and in the Świętokrzyskie voivodeship as much as 14.4%. Such changes may indicate diversity in the availability of resources, local conditions and investor preferences.

If we arrange the voivodeships in ascending order by construction time, it turns out that in 2013 the fastest construction took place in the Łódzkie voivodeship. The dynamics of changes in recent years meant that in 2023 this voivodeship came 14th in terms of construction time, which also indicates a significant improvement in other regions of the country. On the other hand, the slowest construction of single-family houses is invariably in the Świętokrzyskie voivodeship, which remains at the end of this list throughout entire analysed period.

The increasingly shorter construction time of single-family residential buildings may indicate that individual investors are becoming more aware of the available technologies and construction methods that allow for faster and more efficient construction process. Adjusting to the dynamically changing costs of building materials and labour may also contribute to greater time efficiency of construction. In addition, the decrease in construction time may result from better planning, better project management and the use of a more organized approach to construction processes.

Analysis of changes in the duration of construction of single-family houses in Poland shows that individual investors are increasingly making decisions based on pragmatism and efficiency, which allows for faster construction process. Nevertheless, differences between voivodeships and individual cases indicate that there are still regions that are struggling with local challenges that may extend the construction time.

The changes in the approach of individual investors to the usable area of ​​the house they intend to build can best be monitored by analysing the average area of ​​a single-family house for which they obtain a building permit. In the period from 2013 to 2023, the average area of ​​a single-family house for which an individual investor obtained a building permit decreased from 148.5 m² to 141.4 m². This means a decrease in the average area by 7.1 m², which is a decrease of about 4.8%.

At the regional level, the largest decrease in the average area of ​​a house for which a building permit was obtained was recorded in Warmińsko-mazurskie voivodeship, where this area decreased by 11.2%. This may indicate an increase in investors’ awareness of construction costs and increased efficiency in using the available space. Only in Opolskie voivodeship the average area of ​​a house increased, from 153.3 m² in 2013 to 156.6 m² in 2023.

When we rank the voivodeships in ascending order of average area of ​​houses for which a building permit was issued, we can see that in both 2013 and 2023, the smallest houses were built in the Lubuskie voivodeship, while the largest in the Podlaskie voivodeship. The largest shift in such a ranking was observed in the voivodeship for which the largest change in the average area of ​​a house for which a building permit was issued was noted – i.e. Warmińsko-mazurskie. From tenth place in 2013, it moved to third in 2023.

The decreasing area of ​​houses for which individual investors obtain permits may indicate several important changes in the approach to building houses in Poland. First of all, investors are becoming more aware of their financial capabilities, which leads to planning smaller houses that are cheaper to build and maintain. In addition, this phenomenon may be the result of increasing costs of building materials and labour, which forces investors to make more rational decisions regarding the area and size of planned buildings.

The efficiency of individual investors in the construction of single-family houses can be analysed based on a comparison of the number of houses for which a building permit was issued with the number of houses whose construction was actually started. Assuming that the process of starting construction takes place shortly after obtaining an administrative decision, data from the same years was compared. A slight upward trend in the number of permits used was noted between 2013 and 2024. Comparing the values ​​from 2013 and 2024, we see an increase from 93.1% to 97.1%, but between these two years this value was subject to significant fluctuations. Moving the beginning of the analysed period to 2005, we observe a slightly more pronounced upward trend and a slightly larger difference between the first and last analysed year (92.4% and 97.1%, respectively).

The analysis of the ratio of constructions started to those completed tells us much more about the positive change in the effectiveness of individual investors. The average duration of construction of a single-family house in Poland by individual investors in the period 2013-2023 was 4.3 years. Therefore, a four-year time delay between the start of construction and its completion was taken into account. However, taking into account the variability of the duration of such construction (for example due to the region), individual years were not analysed, but four-year periods. The percentage of completed constructions (i.e. the ratio of the number of houses completed and the number of houses whose construction was started) in the period 2010-2013 (i.e. in the period when constructions started in the years 2006-2009 were completed) was 78.4%. By 2024, it increased significantly. The percentage of completed constructions in the period 2021-2024 was 91%. This indicates an improvement in the effectiveness of investment implementation by individual investors.

The analysis of the efficiency of individual investors in the implementation of single-family house construction indicates positive changes in this area, such as the growing share of used permits and a significant increase in the efficiency in completing started constructions. These changes are the result of market development, better access to resources, as well as the growing maturity of individual investors in planning and implementing construction projects.

In recent years, we have observed positive changes in the approach of individual investors to the construction of single-family houses. They are increasingly planning construction more realistically, taking into account their financial possibilities and actual housing needs. This is evidenced by data from the Statistics Poland, which show a decrease in the average duration of the construction of a single-family house, a decrease in the average area of ​​a house for which a building permit was issued, and an increase in the share of completed constructions.

In summary, the changes in the approach of individual investors to the construction of single-family houses in Poland in recent years show positive trends. Investors are becoming more aware of their financial possibilities, prefer smaller and probably more energy-efficient houses, and are more effective in implementing their construction projects. The increase in efficiency in terms of planning and completion of construction is the result of better access to construction technologies, better project management and the growing maturity of investors. Although there are still differences between regions, the data indicates general progress that may lead to further improvement in the situation in the future.

Hubert Horynek
Real Estate Market Analyst