Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the operations of real estate agencies and the attitudes of their clients in Poland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15678/IER.2023.0901.01

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the article is to evaluate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the operations of real estate agencies and the attitudes of their clients in Poland.

Research Design & Methods: A survey questionnaire with open-ended questions distributed among all Polish real estate agents associated in the Polish Real Estate Federation.

Findings: The Covid-19 pandemic changed the operations of real estate agents and the attitudes of tenants and landlords. Real estate brokers turned to remote work using state-of-the-art technologies, landlords became more flexible to the market conditions, and tenants were looking for flats in a better technical condition with a balcony or garden.

Implications & Recommendations: The changes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in real estate agencies’ operations and in the attitudes of their clients in Poland are permanent and highly likely to uphold in the post-Covid-19 times. The findings provide a reference for new housing projects as well as the way real estate agents operate.

Contribution & Value Added: This is the first study considering the entire housing market in Poland and analysing the durability of the Covid-19 pandemic impacts.

Keywords

housing market, Covid-19, housing brokers, housing preferences, real estate agencies

(PDF) Save

Author Biography

Bartłomiej Marona

PhD, Associate Professor at the Krakow University of Economics, Department of Real Estate and Investment Economics, Krakow. His research interests include real estate economics and real estate management.

Mateusz Tomal

PhD, Assistant Professor at the Krakow University of Economics, Department of Real Estate and Investment Economics, Krakow. His research interests include the housing market, real estate economics, land market, econometric modelling, and local government efficiency.


References

  1. Bakar, N.A.A., & Yaacob, A. (2020). The Role of Service Digitalisation in Realty Business during Pandemic from the Perspective of Real Estate Agency in Klang Valley, Malaysia. International Journal of Real Estate Studies, 14, 9-16.
  2. Banaszyk, P., Deszczyński, P., Gorynia, M., & Malaga, K. (2021). The Covid-19 pandemic as a potential change agent for selected economic concepts. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 9(4), 35-50. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2021.090403
  3. Baum, A. (2020). PropTech 2020: The future of real estate. Oxford, UK: University of Oxford.
  4. Bełej, M. (2022). Analysis of the Relationship Between COVID-19 Infections and Web-Based Housing Searches. Real Estate Management and Valuation, 30, 89-102. https://doi.org/10.2478/remav-2022-0031
  5. Boesel, M., Chen, S., & Nothaft, F.E. (2021). Housing preferences during the pandemic: effect on home price, rent, and inflation measurement. Business Economics, 56, 200-211. https://doi.org/10.1057/s11369-021-00241-4
  6. Delbosc, A., & McCarthy, L. (2021). Pushed back, pulled forward: Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on young adults’ life plans and future mobility. Transport Policy, 107, 43-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.04.018
  7. Duque-Calvache, R., Torrado, J.M., & Mesa-Pedrazas, Á. (2021). Lockdown and adaptation: residential mobility in Spain during the COVID-19 crisis. European Societies, 23, S759-S776. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2020.1836386
  8. Gobble, M.M. (2018). Digitalization, digitization, and innovation. Research-Technology Management, 61, 56-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2018.1471280
  9. Guglielminetti, E., Loberto, M., Zevi, G., & Zizza, R. (2021). Living on my own: the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on housing preferences. Bank of Italy Occasional Paper, 627, 1-55.
  10. Hesse, C.L., & Raya Vílchez, J.M. (2022). The effect of COVID-19 on the peer-to-peer rental market. Tourism Economics, 28, 222-247. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548166211044229
  11. Holbrook, A., Krosnick, J.A., & Pfent, A. (2007). The causes and consequences of response rates in surveys by the news media and government contractor survey research firms. In James M. Lepkowski, Clyde Tucker, J. Michael Brick, Edith D. de Leeuw, Lilli Japec, Paul J. Lavrakas, Michael W. Link, Roberta L. Sangster (eds.), Advances in Telephone Survey Methodology (pp. 499-458). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470173404.ch23
  12. Jeon, J., & Suh, Y. (2017). Analyzing the Major Issues of the 4 th Industrial Revolution. Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy, 6, 262-273. https://doi.org/10.7545/ajip.2017.6.3.262
  13. Kang, B., Won, J., & Kim, E.J. (2021). COVID-19 Impact on Residential Preferences in the Early-Stage Outbreak in South Korea. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 11207. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111207
  14. Kania, K., Małkowska, A., & Uhruska, M. (2020). Profesjonalizacja obsługi obrotu nieruchomościami. Wyzwania dla pośredników i rzeczoznawców majątkowych. Cracow, Poland: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Krakowie.
  15. Kania, K., & Kmieć, Ł. (2022). The Impact of Covid-19 on the Use of Modern Technologies By Real Estate Brokers. Real Estate Management and Valuation, 30, 73-83. https://doi.org/10.2478/remav-2022-0015
  16. Kinnunen, J., Georgescu, I., Hosseini, Z., & Androniceanu, A.-M. (2021). Dynamic indexing and clustering of government strategies to mitigate Covid-19. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 9(2), 7-19. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2021.090201
  17. Koszel, M. (2021). The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Professional Situation on the Real Estate Market in Poland. Hradec Economic Days, 11, 412-425. https://doi.org/10.36689/uhk/hed/2021-01-042
  18. Loan, L., Doanh, D., Thang, H., Viet Nga, N., Van, P., & Hoa, P. (2021). Entrepreneurial behaviour: The effects of the fear and anxiety of Covid-19 and business opportunity recognition. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 9(3), 7-23. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2021.090301
  19. Maalsen, S., & Dowling, R. (2020). Covid-19 and the accelerating smart home. Big Data & Society, 7. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951720938073
  20. Machaczka, K., & Stopa, M. (2022). The influence of remote work in particular during the Covid-19 pandemic on changes in human behaviour patterns within organisations. International Entrepreneurship Review, 8, 67-78. https://doi.org/10.15678/IER.2022.0802.05
  21. Marona, B., & Tomal, M. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic impact upon housing brokers’ workflow and their clients’ attitude: Real estate market in Krakow. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 8, 221-232. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2020.080412
  22. Marzban, S., Durakovic, I., Candido, C., & Mackey, M. (2021). Learning to work from home: experience of Australian workers and organizational representatives during the first Covid-19 lockdowns. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 23, 203-222. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRE-10-2020-0049
  23. Mączyńska, E. (2018). Państwo i rynek w warunkach rewolucji cyfrowej i przesilenia cywilizacyjnego. Studia i Prace Kolegium Zarządzania i Finansów, 161, 99-109.
  24. Migała-Warchoł, A., & Pichla, M. (2021). Forecasting the number of cases and deaths from Covid-19. International Entrepreneurship Review, 7, 73-82. https://doi.org/10.15678/IER.2021.0701.06
  25. Najbar, K. (2021). Świadczenie usług zarządzania nieruchomościami w dobie pandemii COVID-19. Horyzonty Polityki, 12, 157-177. https://doi.org/10.35765/hp.2133
  26. Nanda, A., Thanos, S., Valtonen, E., Xu, Y., & Zandieh, R. (2021). Forced homeward: The COVID-19 implications for housing. Town Planning Review, 92, 25-31. https://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.2020.79
  27. Pagani, A., Fritz, L., Hansmann, R., Kaufmann, V., & Binder, C.R. (2021). How the first wave of COVID-19 in Switzerland affected residential preferences. Cities & Health, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2021.1982231
  28. Peters, T., & Halleran, A. (2020). How our homes impact our health: using a COVID-19 informed approach to examine urban apartment housing. Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, 15, 10-27. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-08-2020-0159
  29. Piazolo, D. (June, 2018). Real estate digitalization and the underlying modes of operation. Paper presented at the 25th Annual European Real Estate Society Conference, Reading, UK. https://doi.org/10.15396/eres2018_106
  30. Colliers. (2020). Colliers Hybrid and Beyond. Retrieved from https://www.colliers.com/pl-pl/research/hybrid-and-beyond on December 12, 2022.
  31. Reina, V., Goldstein, S., Dowdall, E., Goldstein, I., & DeYoung, E. (2020). Residential Rental Property Owner Perspectives and Practices in Philadelphia: Evaluating Challenges during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Philadelphia, PA: Housing Initiative at Penn & The Reinvestment Fund.
  32. Serbulova, N., Morgunova, T., & Persiyanova, G. (2020). Innovations during COVID-19 pandemic: trends, technologies, prospects. E3S Web of Conferences, 210, 02005. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202021002005
  33. Shamshiripour, A., Rahimi, E., Shabanpour, R., & Mohammadian, A.K. (2020). How is COVID-19 reshaping activity-travel behavior? Evidence from a comprehensive survey in Chicago. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 7, 100216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2020.100216
  34. Starr, C.W., Saginor, J., & Worzala, E. (2020). The rise of PropTech: Emerging industrial technologies and their impact on real estate. Journal of Property Investment & Finance, 39, 157-169. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1108/JPIF-08-2020-0090
  35. Strączkowski, Ł., & Bartkowiak, P. (2021). Pandemia COVID-19 a lokalny rynek nieruchomości mieszkaniowych – przypadek Miasta Poznania, In A. Jaki & B. Ziębicki (Eds.), Wiedza – Gospodarka – Społeczeństwo. Wyzwania współczesnych organizacji i gospodarek (pp. 273-287). Warszawa, Poland: Instytut Nauk Ekonomicznych PAN.
  36. Tomal, M., & Helbich, M. (2022). The private rental housing market before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A submarket analysis in Cracow, Poland. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 49, 1646-1662. https://doi.org/10.1177/23998083211062907
  37. Trojanek, R., & Gluszak, M, (2022). Short-run impact of the Ukrainian refugee crisis on the housing market in Poland. Finance Research Letters, 50, 103236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2022.103236
  38. Trojanek, R., Gluszak, M., Hebdzynski, M., & Tanas, J. (2021). The COVID-19 pandemic, Airbnb and housing market dynamics in Warsaw. Critical Housing Analysis, 8, 72-84. https://doi.org/10.13060/23362839.2021.8.1.524
  39. Ullah, F., Sepasgozar, S.M., & Wang, C. (2018). A systematic review of smart real estate technology: Drivers of, and barriers to, the use of digital disruptive technologies and online platforms. Sustainability, 10, 3142. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10093142
  40. Zarrabi, M., Yazdanfar, S.A., & Hosseini, S.B. (2021). COVID-19 and healthy home preferences: The case of apartment residents in Tehran. Journal of Building Engineering, 35, 102021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2020.102021

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Similar Articles

1-10 of 94

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.