REFE: A Mecca for Central European real estate
The 12th Real Estate and Finance Fair (REFE), mainly organized by Polska Giełda Nieruchomości, will be held in Wrocław from April 22 to 24. The event's patrons are the Ministry for Infrastructure and the Polish Real Estate Federation.
The list of exhibitors includes the world's top investment, building and development firms, as well as many city and commune offices, which have a chance to showcase the properties on their books.
"In the 12th edition of REFE, the number of city and commune offices from Poland and abroad will be a record, as we expect some 45 agencies," says Małgorzata Battek, the director of the REFE office and conference program.
"State agencies will also be present, such as the Agency of Military Property and the Agency of Agricultural Real Estate. This means that we will have the largest number of premises on offer to date," she adds.
Last year, the fair reflected the positive changes that have taken place on the market since the beginning of 2004. The exhibition offer increased by 16 percent, and the number of accreditations soared by 40 percent. At the time of going to press, some 240 exhibitors and 1,960 visitors were registered. Guests will arrive from as far away as the US, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates, with non-Polish exhibitors accounting for 36 percent of participants.
"REFE has always been a barometer of the market. Only by being there in person, talking to the participants, perusing the offers and participating in the conference discussions, can one aptly evaluate the current prosperity on the market and consequently make the right decisions concerning investments," says Małgorzata Battek.
"REFE is one of those few fairs that attracts all those who might be interested in the real-estate market, such as investors, builders, buyers, and more," adds Bolesław Meluch, from the Association of Polish Banks. Meluch will be speaking at the fair for a fourth time.
The central plank of the fair will be the Real Estate Investment Forum conference. It will focus on a comparative analysis of investment opportunities in special economic zones in Central Europe and China. Distinguished market experts, economists, businessmen and scientists will introduce among others the markets of Poland, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Polish investors might be particularly interested in a training panel on European Union grants for investment in technical infrastructure and revitalizing the urban space in communes. Other subjects that will be discussed during the three-day conference include: attracting foreign investors, presented by Andrzej Zdebski from the Polish Agency of Information and Foreign Investment (PAIiIZ); modern methods of presenting properties by Stanisław Zarod; investments in Sardinia by Gian Piero Palitta; and the development of the real-estate market in Ukraine by Oksana Androsjuk.
"For exhibitors, REFE is always the best form of direct marketing and contact with a given contractor, and for investors it is a chance to meet the current bids on the real-estate market and the financial offer of investment in real estate," says Battek. REFE also offers a chance for more informal business meetings. Leszek Michniak, the president of Wrocław Real Estate, says that the strength of REFE is that "it presents a vast investment offer in one place at one time."
The fair will start on Friday, April 22, with the opening business party, and on Saturday the party continues with the REFE awards. This latest fair sees the second REFE awards ceremony, with prestigious prizes and honors awarded in three categories: public utility buildings, commercial buildings, and houses and apartments. The basic criterion for a construction to be admitted to the competition is that the investment is completed and has permission to be utilized from January 1 to December 31, 2004.
The competition's objective is to distinguish and award those constructions that are functional, modern, and valuable in terms of architecture and urban planning. The deadline for sending applications is March 31, 2005. All projects that are compliant with the competition requirements will be exhibited at the fair. Winners of the three main categories will not only receive prestigious statues but they will also have the opportunity to present their projects during a multimedia presentation and will be given an exhibition area of 10 sqm at the next REFE in autumn this year.
The final of the first REFE Awards took place during the last fair. Some 16 projects made it through to the final, but only three won the main awards, the REFE Eagles: the Królewska office building in Warsaw; the Archaeological Museum in Sardinia; and a housing project at ul Przyjaźń in Wrocław. The Association of Polish Architects is the event's official patron.
REFE is an internationally recognized event and attracts investors from all over the world. According to Małgorzata Battek: "The Polish market is attractive for investors, because real-estate prices are still relatively low, and at the same time there are sectors on the market that are still insatiable, e.g. modern warehouses areas, residential and commercial areas, and hotels. What is more, many local authorities are eager to attract new investments that could refresh their regions economically, thus reducing unemployment."
When asked how he encourages foreign investors to come to REFE and invest in Poland, Bolesław Meluch cuts straight to the point: "The first ones will be the best off. When talking about the Polish real-estate market one has to point to what was happening in Spain or Ireland just after they joined the EU. There is a real boom and investors have to make profits out of it." During the REFE conference, Meluch will speak about the conditions and directions of financing the real-estate market in Poland as compared to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.
The fair will be held in the IASE exhibition and conference center, near the picturesque scenery of Hala Ludowa. The stands are located in two exhibition halls over two levels. The most popular among the participants is the exhibition area, where those who are interested can build up the stand themselves, which allows exhibitors to create original and innovative stands.
The number of exhibitors and accreditations has gradually grown with the last few fairs. On each edition of the Fair there is a recorded increase of participants 7 percent to 20 percent in relation to previous. Investors make up the bulk of visitors to the fair, accounting for 32 percent. They are followed by city and commune offices (16 percent) and consulting firms (12 percent). "On the basis of these statistics it is clear that REFE is developing every time. At the moment it is the biggest event of this type in Central Europe, when it comes to the number of exhibitors and accredited guests," says Battek. REFE is the only real-estate fair whose patronage has been covered by the Ministry of Infrastructure since it first took place.
"REFE has a long tradition," says Leszek Michniak. "It is the most important event of this type in this part of Europe. This is proven by the fact that the organizers of such an unbeatable event as the MIPIM Fair in Cannes are interested in cooperating with us. We have already had very promising talks in Cannes, which was quite a distinction for us."
Asked about the organizers objectives, Michniak says: "Our intention is that REFE is the third side of a triangle formed by the fairs in Cannes, Munich, and Wrocław."
The list of exhibitors includes the world's top investment, building and development firms, as well as many city and commune offices, which have a chance to showcase the properties on their books.
"In the 12th edition of REFE, the number of city and commune offices from Poland and abroad will be a record, as we expect some 45 agencies," says Małgorzata Battek, the director of the REFE office and conference program.
"State agencies will also be present, such as the Agency of Military Property and the Agency of Agricultural Real Estate. This means that we will have the largest number of premises on offer to date," she adds.
Last year, the fair reflected the positive changes that have taken place on the market since the beginning of 2004. The exhibition offer increased by 16 percent, and the number of accreditations soared by 40 percent. At the time of going to press, some 240 exhibitors and 1,960 visitors were registered. Guests will arrive from as far away as the US, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates, with non-Polish exhibitors accounting for 36 percent of participants.
"REFE has always been a barometer of the market. Only by being there in person, talking to the participants, perusing the offers and participating in the conference discussions, can one aptly evaluate the current prosperity on the market and consequently make the right decisions concerning investments," says Małgorzata Battek.
"REFE is one of those few fairs that attracts all those who might be interested in the real-estate market, such as investors, builders, buyers, and more," adds Bolesław Meluch, from the Association of Polish Banks. Meluch will be speaking at the fair for a fourth time.
The central plank of the fair will be the Real Estate Investment Forum conference. It will focus on a comparative analysis of investment opportunities in special economic zones in Central Europe and China. Distinguished market experts, economists, businessmen and scientists will introduce among others the markets of Poland, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Polish investors might be particularly interested in a training panel on European Union grants for investment in technical infrastructure and revitalizing the urban space in communes. Other subjects that will be discussed during the three-day conference include: attracting foreign investors, presented by Andrzej Zdebski from the Polish Agency of Information and Foreign Investment (PAIiIZ); modern methods of presenting properties by Stanisław Zarod; investments in Sardinia by Gian Piero Palitta; and the development of the real-estate market in Ukraine by Oksana Androsjuk.
"For exhibitors, REFE is always the best form of direct marketing and contact with a given contractor, and for investors it is a chance to meet the current bids on the real-estate market and the financial offer of investment in real estate," says Battek. REFE also offers a chance for more informal business meetings. Leszek Michniak, the president of Wrocław Real Estate, says that the strength of REFE is that "it presents a vast investment offer in one place at one time."
The fair will start on Friday, April 22, with the opening business party, and on Saturday the party continues with the REFE awards. This latest fair sees the second REFE awards ceremony, with prestigious prizes and honors awarded in three categories: public utility buildings, commercial buildings, and houses and apartments. The basic criterion for a construction to be admitted to the competition is that the investment is completed and has permission to be utilized from January 1 to December 31, 2004.
The competition's objective is to distinguish and award those constructions that are functional, modern, and valuable in terms of architecture and urban planning. The deadline for sending applications is March 31, 2005. All projects that are compliant with the competition requirements will be exhibited at the fair. Winners of the three main categories will not only receive prestigious statues but they will also have the opportunity to present their projects during a multimedia presentation and will be given an exhibition area of 10 sqm at the next REFE in autumn this year.
The final of the first REFE Awards took place during the last fair. Some 16 projects made it through to the final, but only three won the main awards, the REFE Eagles: the Królewska office building in Warsaw; the Archaeological Museum in Sardinia; and a housing project at ul Przyjaźń in Wrocław. The Association of Polish Architects is the event's official patron.
REFE is an internationally recognized event and attracts investors from all over the world. According to Małgorzata Battek: "The Polish market is attractive for investors, because real-estate prices are still relatively low, and at the same time there are sectors on the market that are still insatiable, e.g. modern warehouses areas, residential and commercial areas, and hotels. What is more, many local authorities are eager to attract new investments that could refresh their regions economically, thus reducing unemployment."
When asked how he encourages foreign investors to come to REFE and invest in Poland, Bolesław Meluch cuts straight to the point: "The first ones will be the best off. When talking about the Polish real-estate market one has to point to what was happening in Spain or Ireland just after they joined the EU. There is a real boom and investors have to make profits out of it." During the REFE conference, Meluch will speak about the conditions and directions of financing the real-estate market in Poland as compared to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.
The fair will be held in the IASE exhibition and conference center, near the picturesque scenery of Hala Ludowa. The stands are located in two exhibition halls over two levels. The most popular among the participants is the exhibition area, where those who are interested can build up the stand themselves, which allows exhibitors to create original and innovative stands.
The number of exhibitors and accreditations has gradually grown with the last few fairs. On each edition of the Fair there is a recorded increase of participants 7 percent to 20 percent in relation to previous. Investors make up the bulk of visitors to the fair, accounting for 32 percent. They are followed by city and commune offices (16 percent) and consulting firms (12 percent). "On the basis of these statistics it is clear that REFE is developing every time. At the moment it is the biggest event of this type in Central Europe, when it comes to the number of exhibitors and accredited guests," says Battek. REFE is the only real-estate fair whose patronage has been covered by the Ministry of Infrastructure since it first took place.
"REFE has a long tradition," says Leszek Michniak. "It is the most important event of this type in this part of Europe. This is proven by the fact that the organizers of such an unbeatable event as the MIPIM Fair in Cannes are interested in cooperating with us. We have already had very promising talks in Cannes, which was quite a distinction for us."
Asked about the organizers objectives, Michniak says: "Our intention is that REFE is the third side of a triangle formed by the fairs in Cannes, Munich, and Wrocław."
