The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the residential real estate market on the example of Szczecin, Poland

The aim of this article is to assess the impact of the socio-economic situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the residential property market. Research in this area has been conducted all over the world. The conclusions of these studies are inconclusive. In different countries and different cities, the changes in the property markets observed from 2020 onwards differ. These differences concern both prices and the number of transactions. In this situation, it is important to conduct research in as many markets as possible. Summaries of such research will allow certain patterns to be identified, which will provide a global perspective on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the property market. The paper describes the short-term changes that have occurred in the formation of residential property prices and the number of transactions concluded. Separate analyses were conducted for property sales and rental transactions. The research was carried out on the data of over 5000 transactions in one of the biggest Polish cities - Szczecin. The city is divided administratively into four districts, which was also taken into account in the study. This made it possible to assess whether, just as the impact of the pandemic varied between cities and countries, it also varied at district level within one city. Confirming the diversity of impact will allow conclusions to be drawn as to whether the pandemic affects each market equally or whether different property markets are affected differently by restrictions and changes in the decisions of property market participants.