Emerging Poland

Recorded price rises

The property market in Poland is growing at an astonishing rate. In April 2007 alone average prices in Poznan grew by 11.3%, the same city recorded a 10.5% growth in March. In Wroclaw the average price rise for the quarter between December 2006 and March 2007 was 13%. These figures speak for themselves.

Availability

The availability of new flats that are ready to move into in each city is a good indicator of how the property market is performing and the likely price rises. The lower the precentage, the less chance there is of finding an apartment that is ready to move into straight away. In May 2006 in Wroclaw the indicator was 0.4% meaning there was an extremely small chance of finding an apartment that is ready to move into creating high demand and substantial price increases. This situation still continues.

Economic Factors

Large numbers of the Polish work force are moving from the countryside into the cities in search of work. There is still much room for the cities populations to increase. Taking Warsaw as an example, the capital city has only 4% of the countries population compared with an average of 10% in other capital cities in the European Union.

The rising middle classes in Poland aspire to own new properties rather than the older communist blocks, which pushes demand higher in the cities.

Foreign Direct Investment is being attracted to Poland constantly, large companies are locating in the country to take advantage of the favourable economic factors.

The mortgage market is opening up and mortgages are far more widely available to local people and foreign investors. In some cases 90% LTV mortgages are available with refinancing options.

Poland along with Ukraine has won the Euro 2012 Football championships meaning a dramatic improvement in infrastructure in the years leading up to the tournament. This will act as a show case for Poland to the rest of Europe.

Summary

Poland is emerging fast into a major player economically in the Europe and internationally. The property market is benefitting from this and long term investment prospects are excellent. Located at the centre of Europe Poland is strategically placed to take advantage of a prosperous European Union. A city such as Poznan is only approximately 3 hours by train to Berlin, giving an example of the close proximity of other major cities and countries.

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