BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland has summarized the first three months in the Polish investment market and pointed out, among other things: reduction in investors' appetite and waiting caused by the war in Ukraine, combat with inflation, rising commodity prices, as well as a hesitant start of the year in the sector of logistics and industrial investments.

Negative factors such as the pandemic, uncertainty caused by the conflict in Ukraine and a rapidly rising inflation rate have significantly affected property buyers' sentiments and decisions.

Strong, self-reliant economic centres are emerging amid ongoing supply chain disruptions and competition for natural resources. Europe is expanding its manufacturing and warehouse base, while Poland, with its skilled labour, lower labour costs than in the West and its mature and buoyant industrial and warehouse market, will be one of the key beneficiaries of these changes, says Piotr Kaszyński, Managing Partner, Newmark Polska, in an interview with Property Forum.

More than ten thousand Ukrainian refugees have already applied for help at the Temporary Support Centre for Refugees (TOWU) in Turawa Park  (Opole, Poland). Just a few days ago TOWU signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Polish branch of the Red Cross.

Retail investor EPP has recently delisted from the Johannesburg and Luxembourg stock exchanges and announced the sale of certain assets. Tomasz Trzósło, CEO of EPP talked to Property Forum about the rationale behind these decisions, the impact of the war in Ukraine on the Polish retail market and its overall condition in the new, post-pandemic era.

Real estate advisory firm Savills anticipates that some of the immediate knock-on effects of the war in Ukraine on the Polish logistics market will include sustained demand for new warehouse projects amid construction difficulties and a prospect of rental growth in ready-to-occupy facilities.

Preliminary figures compiled by Savills suggest that the total real estate investment volume in Europe for the first quarter of the year will reach approximately €70 billion, a 19.5% increase year-on-year. Despite geopolitical events, the real estate advisor expects solid European investment activity for the remainder of the year, notably fuelled by large portfolio and entity deals.