Gdańsk Between the Sea, City Centre and the South. Why the Average Apartment Price Is Misleading
Gdańsk is one of those cities where the average price per square meter quickly stops being sufficient.
An apartment near the beach competes for a different buyer than one near office buildings in Oliwa. A new development in the southern part of the city caters to different needs than a tenement in the Downtown. Even two addresses just a few kilometers apart can have a completely different rental rhythm, commuting costs, and resale prospects.
Therefore, the question “how much does a square meter cost in Gdańsk?” is a good starting point but a weak basis for a decision.
First the numbers: listing price is not the deed price
The latest full report from the National Bank of Poland for Q4 2025 shows a clear difference between sellers’ expectations and actual transactions.
On Gdańsk’s primary market, the average listing price was 16,084 PLN per m², while the average transaction price was 14,379 PLN per m². On the secondary market, these figures were 15,868 PLN and 13,392 PLN per m², respectively.
This is a more important insight than city rankings themselves. It shows that the price visible on portals is not yet the value accepted by the market. The difference may result from negotiations, apartment condition, floor level, exposure, payment terms, parking space, or simply an overly ambitious starting point.
NBP’s data are averages for the entire city and not meant to appraise a specific apartment. However, they clearly illustrate why comparing your property only with active listings can easily lead to inflated expectations.
Gdańsk has at least four distinct housing markets
The administrative division comprises 35 districts, but from a buyer’s perspective a simple map of everyday needs is often more useful.
Coastal Strip: you pay also for location scarcity
Brzeźno, Jelitkowo, parts of Przymorze, and Żabianka attract buyers with proximity to the sea, recreational areas, and recognizable addresses. The supply of quality apartments here is limited, and demand comes from owner-occupiers, investors, and buyers seeking a second home.
Distance from the beach should not be measured in a straight line on a map. Factors such as the actual walking route, view, seasonal noise, wind exposure, parking availability, and whether the location is well-served by trams or the SKM commuter train matter.
Wrzeszcz, Oliwa and business axis area: year-round demand market
Access to workplaces, universities, and city rail plays a large role here. Well-located apartments attract specialists working in office complexes, students, families, and renters commuting daily throughout the Tri-City area.
However, within one neighborhood you’ll find a mix of tenements, post-war blocks, and new developments. The district name alone tells little about the condition of installations, acoustics, maintenance fees, or elevator availability. Valuation should start from the building and street, not the postal code.
Downtown: apartments compete with tourism function
Central Gdańsk provides access to services, culture, and architecture, but part of the market operates seasonally. When buying, you must separate address attractiveness from everyday living convenience.
It’s worth checking tourist traffic intensity, the number of short-term rental apartments in the building, nighttime noise, car access, and parking rules. An apartment great for weekends may not be equally suitable for a family living there year-round.
Southern city districts: more space, but mind the time
Jasień, Ujeścisko-Łostowice, Chełm, and Orunia Górna offer much newer construction and often a larger selection of family-size apartments. A lower entry price may allow for an extra room, balcony, or garage spot.
However, price differences must be weighed against daily life: rush hour commuting, access to schools and kindergartens, planned road works, and whether services develop as fast as new buildings. For a remote worker, the compromise may be minor; for someone commuting daily to Oliwa, it’s critical.
The city is growing, but new supply is unevenly distributed
According to city data, Gdańsk had 489,328 residents at the end of 2025, and 5,750 apartments were completed that year. This reflects a large and still developing market, but the number of new units alone does not show where exactly they were built nor which buyer segments they serve.
Districts with available land facilitate large projects, but infrastructure needs time to catch up with development. In mature parts of the city, fewer new apartments appear, but buyers often pay a premium for established transport connections, schools, shops, and green spaces.
When comparing the primary and secondary market, it’s important to consider not only finishing costs. Also relevant are waiting times, the risk of ongoing construction nearby, maintenance fees, community layout, and the actual availability of services on handover day.
Tourism supports rentals but does not guarantee returns
In 2025, Gdańsk was visited by 4.91 million guests. This scale boosts accommodation demand and builds city recognition, but buying an apartment "for tourists" still requires careful calculation.
Occupancy fluctuates throughout the year, and gross income excludes cleaning, operator commissions, utilities, repairs, vacancies, and owner time. Check the community rules, building character, and whether the apartment will remain attractive for long-term rental if your strategy changes.
The safest investments are usually those with multiple potential uses: serving summer tourists, students or professionals off-season, and if needed, the next owner buying for personal use.
How to compare offers without falling into the average price trap?
Before noting the first price table, it’s worthwhile to build four separate comparison baskets.
- Location: the same district, similar walking distance to SKM or tram, and comparable street character.
- Building: similar construction year, technology, elevator, condition of common areas, and parking.
- Apartment: comparable size, number of rooms, floor, exposure, balcony, and standard.
- Transaction: primary or secondary market, ready or needing renovation, price with or without parking space.
Only within such a group does the price per square meter start making sense. A studio almost always has a higher per-square-meter rate than a large apartment in the same building. An apartment after a full renovation is not directly comparable to one needing wiring replacement. And a green view is not the same product as a view of a future construction phase.
Five questions worth asking during a viewing
- How long does it really take to get to work or university on a normal Tuesday at 8:00 AM?
- What might be built on any undeveloped land visible from the windows?
- What building renovations have been done and which are planned?
- What is the full monthly cost of maintaining the apartment including the parking space?
- Who is most likely to buy or rent this apartment in five years?
Answers usually reveal more about value than comparisons to the most expensive listings nearby.
Conclusion: in Gdańsk, you buy a lifestyle, not the city average
The sea, the historic centre, the business axis, and the rapidly growing south form one urban organism, but not one real estate market.
The average price helps set budget scale, but decisions should be guided by micro-location, building type, actual commute times, and the number of possible apartment use scenarios.
This is why a good Gdańsk market analysis begins not with “where is the cheapest?”, but “what exactly is the buyer paying for at this location — and will that value be clear to the next buyer?”
Sources
Price data: National Bank of Poland, Information on Apartment Prices in Q4 2025. Population, housing and tourism data: Gdańsk in Numbers. City division: Gdańsk City Hall BIP.
Photo: Jakub Żerdzicki / Unsplash, Unsplash license.