Grzegorz Kawecki, Vice-President of the Management Board, Marvipol Development talked to Property Forum about the current slowdown in the Polish residential market, interest of the PRS investment funds and the forecasts for the rental sector.

Zeitgeist Asset Management has obtained a loan from Česká spořitelna for the largest ever refinancing of its portfolio in the amount of €113 million (CZK 2.7 billion). In total, it concerns 23 properties with a total value of €220 million, located in various Prague locations. These are mainly residential properties with apartments for rent and private campuses for student accommodation.

Developer AFI Europe has announced the completion of the Tulipa residential project on a five-hectare brownfield site in Prague 3 Strašnice. This latest, fifth phase with an eight-storey apartment building cost the developer more than CZK 250 million and will be the only one dedicated exclusively to rental housing with 61 apartments.

Challenging times are still going on, thus investment market participants are closely following the impact of the turmoil in Europe on the economy and its long‑lasting consequences. In spite of the record-high inflation as well as continuously raised interest rates, the Polish investment market keeps track with 32 investment deals closed in Q2 2022, exceeding €1.2 billion, Avison Young reports.

The resources of the PRS sector in Poland are growing. Last year, almost one in five apartments was built for institutional lease, which also had a significant impact on developers' results. According to Walter Herz, in 2021, investments in portfolios of residential for rent in Poland amounted to approximately €725 million. There are already almost 8,000 units on the Polish market offered in the PRS segment and other several tens of thousands of apartments under construction.

Trei Real Estate Poland has launched its first investment in Poland in the private rented sector. The property located at ul. Piątkowska in Poznań is to be ready in 2025. The developer plans to build 450 apartments, which will be available in the institutional lease formula.

Marcin Krasoń, a residential property expert at Obido.pl and Otodom.pl talked to Property Forum about the incoming slowdown in the residential market in Poland, the development of the PRS sector and the effects of rising inflation.

Kajima Properties has completed the development of one of Gdansk’s first built-to-rent schemes. A joint venture with local investor Tonsa and Olivia Business Centre, it marks Kajima’s first built-to-rent project in Poland and delivers a range of units from studios to three-bedroom family apartments. The building has been incorporated within the new @Home operational platform and has quick access to central Gdańsk, Olivia Business Centre and the rest of the Tri City area. The 3,185 sqm building has been fully let.

PRS (private rented sector) investments, which have been popular in Western Europe for years, are increasingly developing in Poland. In 2021, residential rental investments accounted for €0.6 billion of the capital invested in the country. In response to the needs of this rapidly growing sector, Colliers, as one of the first companies in the market, launched its PRS investment management and commercialization service. The first project of this kind in Colliers’ property management portfolio is one of the newest investments of Atrium European Real Estate in Kraków's Krowodrza district.

EPP has finalised the sale of its 70% stake in the Towarowa 22 mixed-use project in Warsaw to AFI Europe. It is historically one of the largest land transactions in Poland in terms of value, with the total plot value exceeding €180 million.