Warsaw vs Dubai: Comparing a PLN 1.5 Million Budget

Sources checked: 29 October 2026.

Comparisons of Warsaw and Dubai usually start with price per square metre or a headline yield. With a PLN 1.5 million budget, the more useful question is how much of that sum goes into the property, how much into entry costs, and how much stays as a liquid reserve. This article walks through a simple, fully hypothetical calculation that you can repeat with your own listings and documents. It does not quote current prices, rents or exchange rates. It is a comparison method, not a market valuation or a forecast.

Why compare the all-in budget instead of the price

The asking price is only one line of the budget. On top of it come transaction costs, furnishing or minor repairs, legal and registration fees, and money you deliberately do not spend because it is meant to cover a vacancy, a repair or first-year bills. Only the total is the all-in budget. The Dubai side of these costs is covered in more detail in our article on Dubai apartment buying and ownership costs.

If you compare two cities, both scenarios need the same denominator. Here it is PLN 1.5 million. So the question is not what you can buy for PLN 1.5 million, but which price you can accept and still land at PLN 1.5 million after costs and reserve. Two listings with different prices may turn out equally viable, while two with similar prices may behave very differently.

• property purchase price
• transaction and registration costs: taxes, fees, commissions, notary or equivalent
• one-off set-up costs: furnishing, cleaning, small repairs
• a liquid reserve held outside the property

Two hypothetical scenarios at PLN 1.5 million

The numbers below are exercise assumptions, not market quotes or real listings. The rate of PLN 0.95 per AED 1 is assumed for illustration. The costs of PLN 80,000 and AED 100,000 are round assumptions, not the fee schedule of the Dubai Land Department or of any law firm.

In dirhams the sum looks larger, yet after conversion the two are comparable. So choose the currency in which you view the budget at the start and do not switch in the middle of the comparison.

• Warsaw (hypothetical): price PLN 1,350,000 + costs PLN 80,000 + liquid reserve PLN 70,000 = PLN 1,500,000.
• Dubai (hypothetical): price AED 1,400,000 + costs AED 100,000 = AED 1,500,000; at PLN 0.95 per AED that is PLN 1,425,000, plus a PLN 75,000 reserve = PLN 1,500,000.

The reserve: inside the budget, outside the deployed capital

The reserve is part of the PLN 1.5 million but is not spent on the property. In Warsaw the capital actually deployed into purchase and costs is PLN 1,430,000; in Dubai it is PLN 1,425,000. A gap of PLN 5,000 is small, so the two scenarios are comparable on deployed capital.

When you calculate a return, pick one base and stay with it. In this article the base is the full PLN 1.5 million budget in both cities. If you divided by PLN 1.5 million once and by deployed capital the next time, you would be mixing a budget-based ratio with return on deployed capital, which are two different measures. Interest earned on the reserve is left out of this calculation.

Cash income measured against the full budget

Take hypothetical annual figures. Warsaw: PLN 84,000 of rent actually collected and PLN 24,000 of costs. Dubai: AED 100,000 of rent collected and AED 30,000 of costs. These are illustrations, not forecasts.

The result is cash income before tax and before financing, with no loan. It does not show which city is better. A PLN 0.10 move in the exchange rate shifts the Dubai result by PLN 7,000 a year, which is more than the entire hypothetical gap between the cities at 0.95, namely PLN 6,500.

Rent in both examples is already collected rent, meaning vacancy is already reflected, so do not subtract vacancy a second time. To get from an advertised rent to a net return, see our article on Dubai rental yield and net return.

• Warsaw: 84,000 − 24,000 = PLN 60,000; 60,000 / 1,500,000 = 4.00%.
• Dubai at 0.95: 100,000 − 30,000 = AED 70,000; × 0.95 = PLN 66,500; 66,500 / 1,500,000 = 4.43%.
• Dubai at 0.85: 70,000 × 0.85 = PLN 59,500; 59,500 / 1,500,000 = 3.97%.

Exchange rate: two separate moments

The PLN acquisition cost reflects actual payments and conversions, potentially on several dates. Future rental income is converted at future rates. This exercise simplifies the purchase to one exchange rate and separately varies the rate applied to rental cash flow.

That is why the 4.43% in the example is annual rental cash surplus divided by the budget, not a capital gain. The value of the apartment itself can move either way. This calculation does not forecast it and does not assume it stays flat; it simply leaves it out. Value scenarios are discussed in our piece on Dubai property correction scenarios.

In the Warsaw case, spending and income are both in zloty, so this issue does not arise in the same form. No currency risk does not mean no other risks, though. That assumes PLN is also your comparison and spending currency; an international buyer using another currency has a different exposure.

Operating costs: a list to fill in from documents

Break the assumed PLN 24,000 and AED 30,000 into documented property expenses. Do not deduct vacancy-related lost rent again from rent already collected. Still include actual expenses incurred while the unit is empty, such as building charges and utilities.

• building or community charges, reserve fund or service charge, from the manager's current statement
• insurance
• letting management, if you use it
• minor repairs and replacement of furnishings
• fees tied to a tenant change and tenancy registration
• bank transfer and currency conversion costs

How to read market data without getting misled

For Poland, the starting point is NBP's quarterly real estate information. Its latest edition, checked live on 29 October 2026, covers Q2 2026 and revises secondary-market transaction prices backward after integrating BaRN, AMRON, CRCM and RCN data.

Use one consistent export instead of mixing versions of the series. This budgeting exercise does not treat a Warsaw average as the price of a particular flat.

For Dubai, check registered DLD transactions. Market data provides a reference; confirm the negotiated unit’s price and costs separately in its offer, contract and charge statement.

• Offers are not transactions: an advertised price is the seller's expectation, not the price paid.
• A mean is not a median: a few expensive units pull the mean up, while the median is more resistant to them.
• Align area definitions: usable and built-up measures may cover different space. Converting square metres to square feet does not remove that difference.
• Use the same period: do not compare a quarter with a single month, or one year with another.

Tax and financing sit outside this calculation

All figures above are before tax and without a loan. That does not make a property abroad tax-free in a global sense: obligations can arise from where you are resident as well as from where the property is located. Owning property also does not automatically bring a tax benefit or a right to reside. Check these points separately, with an adviser and on your own documents, and only then add them to the calculation.

Liquidity and the exit

The all-in budget covers the entry, but the exit matters too. Think about how long and how costly a sale could be in each city, who handles the paperwork, and whether it can be done remotely. These are questions for an agent and a lawyer, not numbers to fill in upfront.

Differences also depend on whether you buy a finished unit or one under construction, which our article on off-plan vs ready property in Dubai explores. The reserve in the budget earns its place here: it lowers the chance that you are forced to sell at a bad moment.

A checklist before you decide

If several items are still blank, treat the result of the comparison as preliminary.

• You have specific listings in both cities with price, area and the area definition.
• Both scenarios close at PLN 1.5 million including costs and reserve.
• You chose an exchange rate for the conversions and tested at least two values.
• Rent is based on signed tenancies, not only on asking rents.
• Tax and financing have been checked separately.
• You know how much time and money an exit could take.