I'm buying a unit at Piastow in Katowice. I proceed for now on assumption that I will want to sell rather than rent after handover.

Anyone have experience/opinion on whether one is better off trying to sell without having fitout done?

The question arises because I've heard conflicting stories about whether Polish buyers prefer black finish apartments.

I'd be interested to find this out too - I'm going to hold for a while though so will be doing a fit out...

I think that depends on the type of buyer – local vs. investor.

As a Polish I would say that Polish people prefer to buy unfinished apartment as they like to choose the fit-out themselves. Colour of walls, type of tiles are important if you going to live in the place for the next years (Poles don’t tend to change place of residence very often). Evidence of how important such factors are is that even if they buy secondary apartment, they usually redecorate it.

If buyer is an property investor, finished apartment would probably sell quicker as it saves the hassle and time of organising workers, materials, etc. It would also allow him to put an apartment on the rental market much quicker and avoid long voids.

In general, I think that is always worth trying to sell unfinished apartment, before spending extra on the fit-out.

It would be interesting to hear what is the experience of investors, who have already sold their apartments in Poland.

Thanks, Anna, that was really helpful - it gives me a better gut sense of what drives the market in Poland. A followup question or two occurs, intended for anyone to speculate on, not just you!

Are local buyers or investors more likely to predominate in Katowice, given its present state of supply vs demand for new apartments, and the relative incomes of local buyers, and other factors beyond my ability to speculate?

And are 2-bedroom apartments like this one at Piastow so expensive that due to its cost the majority of buyers will be investors? (around 455,000 PLN w/parking before fees, more than 510,000 after fees)

(I assume that it will take awhile to find the right buyer, not intending to dump the apartment to first offer after handover.)

Selling a property with a fit out will increase the value more so than the actual costs of re-fitting so i would recomend a fit out.