Heart of Europe
Konrad Kiedrzyński: What is the mission and purpose of the Central European Meeting Point (CEMP)?
Enrique Lacalle: CEMP is intended to foster property business deals between Western companies and professionals and the main local players from the Central and Eastern European countries
How do you rate the outcome of CEMP 2006?
It was a huge success, as its figures confirm: 576 professional attendees and 307 participating companies. We were very happy with the results and are expecting to surpass those numbers this year
How long do you think the boom on the real-estate market in Poland will last? What is driving it?
The answers to these questions will be disclosed at CEMP's Symposium on Thursday, April 19th, where the Polish real-estate market will be analyzed in depth. However, my opinion is that with its entering the EU, Poland has become a very attractive market for investors. The price of housing units in Warsaw and Kraków in 2006 grew by 50 percent and land prices in both cities for residential use grew by 100 percent. Among other top Polish cities - such as Wrocław, Poznań or Tri-city (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot) - the price of housing units grew by 30 percent and, with respect to land, by 50 percent. Obviously, this situation meant spectacular capital gains in 2006. What is more, in the following years, Poland will receive E75 (zł.287) billion from EU funds.
Is this boom similar to other situations in the CEE region?
I don't think so, although there might be some competency in Romania in future years and Ukraine is a country to be taken into account if it is able to overcome its political problems and achieves greater stability.
Which areas of the real-estate and construction industries will enjoy the greatest drive in demand?
At the present time, residential. In the future, industrial-logistics as well as shopping center areas are very promising.
What makes Warsaw an attractive place to invest?
Warsaw is unquestionably the largest and the strongest residential market in Poland. It belongs to the narrow group of largest cities in this part of Europe. It also has a relatively small number of inhabitants in relation to the whole population of Poland. The great majority of EU member states' capitals have at least a 10 percent of the country's population. Warsaw only has five percent of Poland's population, which means that the city will experience very important growth in future years.
What are the greatest obstacles to making investments in Poland?
Poland still has bureaucratic problems and lacks speed in its administration.
What other cities in Poland will enjoy growing popularity? Wrocław, Katowice, Poznań? Or maybe the time has come for smaller towns and regions hitherto less popular among foreign investors?
Poland, as a country of 40 million, has a number of large cities with diverse economic situations. One-third of all units built for sale in Poland are in the Warsaw metropolitan area.
The other four largest metropolitan areas - Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań and Tri-city - produce another one-third of all developers' output. Smaller cities will also gain in popularity.
