Poland comes third

Cushman & Wakefield H&B's latest report on emerging European markets has placed Poland third, behind Hungary and the Czech Republic, on a list of the most economically promising countries, who are in line to join the European Union, (Russia, in eighth position here, is of course the exception)

The report begins by admitting that drawing up any such charts is problematic and concedes that a country's appeal very much depends on the concerns of investors: whether they are looking for "industry specific opportunities" and the timescales they have in mind. The research team have nonetheless attempted to make sense of the balance between each country's potential and the risk it entails. Fifty variables, which include economics, politics, corruption, property market structures and occupier and investor demand have all been examined in terms of the relative stability they can offer.
The analysis claims that it "runs on similar lines to assessments made by the EU" and concludes that Poland's comparatively high position is due mainly to the large size of its market. Estonia, a much smaller nation, is ranked second in terms of stability and Poland fourth, but the latter supercedes the former because of the opportunities that are widely perceived as existing in such a populous country.

Room for improvement
Describing Poland as one of the most mature real estate markets in Europe, the report however remarks on the relative lack of development in the retail sector compared to its office market, which is the largest in Central Europe.
The report has been divided into three factors: the macro background, property market activity and property structures, which in turn have been broken down into several variables. Poland was ranked at number one for liquidity and occupier activity, while it scored badly at lease terms and tax and costs, coming eighth in both cases.