Poland is building far more apartments than Czechia. Can we catch up?

Poland is building new homes at a significantly faster rate than Czechia, and the difference remains stark even after accounting for its much larger population.

Last year, 5.6 new apartments were completed for every 1,000 people in Poland, compared with just 3.1 in Czechia, according to a new analysis by investment company Arete Investment Group. Poland also started construction on 5.7 homes per 1,000 residents, versus 3.3 in Czechia.

The comparison highlights one of the central problems facing the Czech housing market: adding enough new supply to meet demand. While Poland has developed several strong regional property markets, Czech development remains heavily concentrated around Prague.

In absolute terms, Poland completed nearly 209,000 homes in 2025, compared with about 33,400 in Czechia. Poland has roughly 38 million residents, however, against Czechia's approximately 11 million.

Adjusting for population, the rate of completed housing construction in Poland was still about 83 percent higher.

The gap is also visible in projects entering the pipeline. Construction began on about 212,400 Polish homes last year, compared with roughly 35,800 in Czechia. On a per-capita basis, Poland started building about 73 percent more homes.

"The difference can no longer be explained simply by Poland being a larger country," Arete Real Estate investment director Miroslav Barnáš said. "Poland has consistently managed to bring a significantly larger volume of new supply to the market."

That difference matters for affordability, he added. When housing demand rises faster than developers can add new homes, the resulting pressure is reflected in both apartment and building-land prices.

Poland also has an advantage beyond Warsaw. Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Łódź, the Tricity area and Upper Silesia all support substantial property development, giving developers multiple economically viable markets in which to repeat successful projects. Czechia's market, by comparison, is much more dependent on Prague.

The figures arrive as Czech policymakers and developers continue to grapple with how to accelerate residential construction, particularly in Prague and other high-demand cities.

Poland's experience suggests that the difference is not simply one of population or market size. Its network of regional economic centers allows housing, retail and other developments to be built at scale across the country.

Transport infrastructure also plays a role. Poland now has around 5,600 kilometers of motorways and expressways, with more than 1,000 additional kilometers planned. New transport links can open previously less attractive locations to housing and commercial development.

The comparison is not entirely one-sided. Czechia actually has more modern industrial and logistics space relative to its population: about 1.26 square meters per resident, compared with 1.02 square meters in Poland.

But when it comes to housing, the pipeline suggests Czechia is not yet closing the gap. Poland both completed and started substantially more homes per resident last year, meaning its could continue to outpace Czechia in residential construction for years to come.