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Archived Articles
Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.
He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.
In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.
Global Real Estate Project
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Polish real estate marketHaunted by the past
The main problem that was always troubling the Poles' minds was what to do if German nationals, who fled the now Western Poland in 1944-1945, suddenly decided to return and claim their lands and properties? Before World War II in the now Western, Northwestern and Southwestern Polish provinces lived more than 10 million Germans. Now there have been left as few as 500 000 Germans, surrounded by more than 15 million Poles (out of the total population of nearly 40 million), who moved westwards after the last war. In the sensitive western regions any foreigner, who wants to purchase some real estate, has to obtain permission from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration. In the other regions of Poland (Central, Eastern and South-Eastern provinces), foreigners according to the law of 1996 do not need to get a government permit when buying apartments and up to 4000 sq. meters of urban land. The further liberalization of the real estate market for foreigners is not expected until the country joins the European Union, which is expected to happen not earlier than in January 2003. Even the partial liberalization in 1996 was criticized by some Polish parties which feared that foreign capital would buy up land and companies and Poles would lose control over the economy as a result. These fears are deeply rooted in the Poles' mentality and will hardly disappear in the near future. They have real historical analogies in the 19th century Poland when the industrial and financial life was run by local Germans and Jews. The paradox linked to this discrimination of foreigners (the main targets are Germans and Jews), is that the regions with more or less liberal real estate market are the poorest and the most unattractive for any investment - both local and foreign. In the Eastern parts of Poland - where mostly farming is being developed and there is higher level of seasonal unemployment and lower income per capita, the supply is much bigger than the demand which accounts for the cheaper prices of properties and the diminishing trend in the real estate market. In some western and northern provinces, where the market was artificially limited by the state intervention (the need of permits), the market grew in the 90s by 500 percent and analysts believe that the real boom is still ahead. The main reason for this are the numerous Polish communities living abroad and wishing to invest and settle down in Poland (only in the USA there are more than 6 million Poles). The Warsaw real estate market is developing much more rapidly than elsewhere in the country. In the capital of Poland even people with enough money frequently have to spend a month trying to find a place that meets their expectations. The total retail area in Warsaw today is 1,25 million sq.meters. That equates to 0,8 sq.meters per capita (with 2,7 million inhabitants in Warsaw). With retail standard in Western Europe running at 2 sq.meters per capita, Warsaw offers a huge retail growth potential. Demand for retail space is high with an increasing number of international retailers eager to enter the Polish market. The rents for commercial spaces in Warsaw vary from 25 - 40 $/sq. meter a month in the districts out of the city center to the 100 $/sq.meter a month on the best commercial streets. In the big cities of the western parts of the country the shops and office spaces cost 500-800 $/sq.meter or can be rented at 10-20 $/sq.meter a month. In the residential real estate market in Poland the prices vary according to the geographic location, the year of construction and the available facilities. In Warsaw the prices range from 500 $/sq.meter to more than 1 100 $/sq.meter. In the big cities near the German border houses and flats cost between $400 and $750 /sq.meter. In order to downturn the trend of prices, many small and medium size companies are buying downtown houses and apartments for residential purposes and then turn them into office spaces. The land for building in the big cities starts at 25 - 35 $/sq.meter and can reach as high as 100 $/sq.meter in the city center in Warsaw, where unlike many other European capitals, there are still available many lots of land. The basic condition for obtaining a bank loan in Poland for the purchase of real estate is to provide at least 20 percent of the price of a given estate. The loan is secured either by mortgage deed or by guarantors. The amount of the bank loan cannot be higher than 20 times the gross income of the potential buyer. The repayment term is 20 years a longest (240 monthly instalments) with a bank commission on the loan as high as 2 percent. Several real estate companies in Poland have established close links with bank institutions that gives the possibility for the client to obtain a 1 or 2-year delay in the repayment of the loan. The interest rates in Poland for the real estate credits in the beginning of 2000 were 18 percent a year for most of the banks. The inflation rate for the 1998-1999 period was 9 percent annually so the effective interest rates on the home buying credits are 9 percent a year.
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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Poland.
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