Increase in real estate prices to slow down

"According to our estimates, assessing the foundation of the Polish market rationally, the growth will amount to about 7-8% per annum over ten years, which is lower than at present," said Grzegorz Latala, chief economist of CU Investment Management. The boom in the real estate sector took place in Poland following the EU accession and amounted to even 25% in some cities in 2005. According to recent estimates, there is a shortage of 1.5 million flats in Poland, while three million old flats require renovation. "We are not Spain. We cannot hope for external demand to be similar to the Spanish case," said Latala. In turn, the very high prices of land, which increased by 200-300% over the last two years, should fall within about four years when the spatial planning plans are accepted. "The margin of developers is irrational," said Marek Przybylski, president of CU TFI. (Parkiet, p. 11) M.M.