The main theme for the Urban Living Product Council was “Affordability on residential market – general threat regarding housing and mortgage loan shortage vs opportunity for rental market boom”.

Michal Witkowski, Director of Living Services, Colliers set the scene for the discussion by presenting a short overview on the main market drivers, such as a significant supply gap, estimated at over 3 m of flats in Poland. Affordability of the loan plays also a big role and with the increasing interest rates, the number of people buying apartments on mortgage is decreasing. According to Adam Czerniak, Head of the Institutional and Political Economy Department, Warsaw School Of Economics at the moment a perfect macroeconomic storm is brewing, caused by covid19, inflation, credit tightening and the war. It seems that renting is currently becoming the most favourable option, and the market will be growing, due to and despite the new challenges. Residential developer view on current situation on the housing market was presented by Ewa Perkowska, Member of the Board and Chief Sales Officer at Spravia. On the other hand, PRS investor view was presented by Anna Dafna, Group Managing Director – Residential for Rent at Atrium European Real Estate.

Afterwards a very interesting discussion took place, engaging above mentioned presenters, invited guest: Łukasz Białecki, Head of Real Estate Financing at PEKAO SA and Marek Obuchowicz, Partner at Griffin Capital Partners as well as our ULI members who participated in the event. The discussion concentrated on opportunities and challenges of the broader living sector. The participants talked about supply gap, increasing interests rates, investors’ approach and euro market in PRS.  Is the euro market in PRS ahead of us? This can very soon be the case! The sales prices will not go down – rather up, and so will the rents, which impacts the living products’ underwriting. – concluded the participants of the Urban Living Product Council, that took place at the Colliers Headquarters in Warsaw.

Thank you our ULI Poland Executive Committee Members Dorota Wysokińska-Kuzdra, Senior Partner, Corporate Finance & Living Services for CEE at Colliers and Joanna Wojnarowska, Global Deputy Head of Real Estate at DWF for moderation the discussion.

Thank you to Colliers for hosting us!

This year’s Mixed-use and Destination Projects Product Council meeting was dedicated to: Secret ingredients to create successful destination project

The choice of the venue allowed us to take a close look at one of the most exciting new developments in Warsaw and the whole Poland- Browary Warszawskie. It made the discussion specifically relevant for developers active on the Polish market.  The Product Council presented and put under discussion the project which was elaborated, designed, built and leased by those who understand the Warsaw market. The success of the development was presented in details by first hand experienced project owners.

It turns out that the road to success leads… through the stomach to the heart! Food & beverage is the lure today to make people want to meet, live and work in the area. The future of cities is to be created by environmentally friendly places that combine different functions, are green, beautifully designed and where you can get lost! That is why in Browary Warszawskie you can feel like in a safe city with many hidden corners. Here no one will be surprised if you return a beer glass from one restaurant to another.

Dominika Telega-Bałdyga revealed to the participants what it was like to create the Browary Warszawskie brand and launch it on the market. It turned out that an important part of the project that cannot be forgotten is the place to take photos on Instagram!

Echo Investment intends to use the Warsaw lessons in the implementation of the Fuzja project in Łódź. The meeting ended with Site tour around Warsaw Brewery.

Thank you Allen & Overy Poland and Echo Investment for hosting us!

The topic for this year’s Urban Supply Chain Retail & Logistics was “Future of Retail – an abundance of a shopping mall or a great come back? With lockdowns lifted – is e-commerce still thriving”.

The event started with a networking lunch hosted in an office of Cushman & Wakefield in Warsaw Hub, which has successfully allowed for the informal introduction of participants and launched initial discussions.

After lunch, Ewa Derlatka-Chilewicz and Beata Kokeli from Cushman & Wakefield gave the participants an insightful retail market overview. That created a foundation for a discussion on how the shopping habits in Poland have changed after the pandemic.

After a market overview, we have learned more about the client’s perspective thanks to a presentation delivered by Ryszard Wysokiński from Kaufland Poland. It triggered a fascinating discussion on the differences between Poland and other European countries and the lessons learnt or what may come in the distant and not-so-distant future!

A closing argument came from Michał Brzeziński from Cushman & Wakefield, who talked and led the discussion about the development of retail chains and the logistics market in the wake of the e-commerce growth. As same as showcased the newest numbers and analysis of the logistics market finishing an exciting and active throughout the event discussion and brainstorming session.

Thank you to Cushman & Wakefield for hosting us!