Build to rent or build to sell? The participants of CEE Property Forum in Vienna were sure that in the current residential market environment of high inflation and rising interest rates, building for PRS purposes is the only valid option.

Despite rising costs and rents, the rented residential sector continues to ride high as demand booms and is poised to remain a more lucrative investment opportunity than asset classes such as office or retail. Bonard has spoken to leading real estate specialists to investigate the factors behind the sector’s success.

For the second successive quarter, developers have attempted to establish equilibrium between units sold and new units coming onto the market. Rising inflation continues to drive buyers to developers’ offices, with sales for the first three quarters of 2021 exceeding 2020’s annual total, says JLL. 

Resi4Rent opens its seventh building, this time in the north of the country. The first clients have already moved into 301 new premises at Kołobrzeska Street in Gdańsk. This is another step towards the company's goal of building a portfolio of 10 thousand apartments by 2025.

A newly opened project at Taśmowa Street with over 370 apartments joins Resi4Rent buildings in Warsaw Brewery and at Suwak Street.

Heimstaden Bostad AB announces its second acquisition in Poland, consisting of three build-to-rent projects in Warsaw with 647 residential units of 29,851 sqm and 11 commercial units of 1,068 sqm for approximately SEK 842 million (PLN 381 million) and an option to acquire an additional 60 apartments. The seller and developer is Marvipol Development SA.

Resi4Rent, the largest private company with subscription-based apartments, has expanded its offer by nearly 230 units in Warsaw. The first residents have just moved into the project located in the heart of Mokotów business district.

Savills top picks for value-add investors this year are logistics developments in undersupplied markets such as the Nordics and Spain, short-term income sectors such as flexible offices and student housing, which are likely to recover in the second half of this year, and multifamily developments in markets with rising demand for rental such as Southern and Eastern Europe.