Program

Logistics: Rental prices: Undercutting or overkill?

Poland seems to have it all: economic growth, a strong internal market and an excellent reputation abroad. So why is the industrial market still stuck? How long will it take for net absorption to overcome the high vacancy levels left over from the development boom? Are drastic rent reductions the only way out of the mess, and how could they haunt the sector going forward? This is a tale of two competitors who went into the crisis with very different starting points -- and who are coming out with completely different solutions.

Retail: Strong enough for exits, or is confidence still too fragile?

Warsaw's office market tends to hog the international spotlight when it comes to investments, but what about the country's retail sector? The robust economy has kept consumers spending across the country, but do investors have the courage to buy outside the capital? If not, are developers (along with the banks that back them) really prepared to hold onto their schemes? As for Warsaw, is it still competitive, or have yields here compressed too quickly?

True or false? Office vacancy is finally low enough to spark new development

Deals are happening in Warsaw, but they usually turn out to be renewals or extensions. So while the lack of vacancy downtown is encouraging, is it a solid enough to build new space? Shouldn't banks be disciplining developers to wait for more sustainable signs of demand growth? Will the few now taking the speculative plunge turn out to be heroes for betting on economic growth, or foolish daredevils?

Residential: Prices on the rebound? Or further to fall?

Poland's resilient economy is finally bearing fruit for at least one property sector, as residential sales now look like they could be recovering. But has this come too late for developers of troubled projects begun near the end of the boom? Could sales be snuffed out if sellers try to raise prices? Banks now face a dilemma, as their existing exposure to this sector will handicap them in their ability to provide new loans. How should developers adapt?

Banking: Is 2011 the end of pretend and extend?

Banks have been accused of putting off solutions to their challenged portfolios, sticking their collective heads in the sand. This started to change at the end of 2010, as some banks started to get tougher, but those that do this are suspected of being in some sort of trouble. So which is it? Are restructuring, insolvency and workouts the rational way to proceed, or is it a cry for help from a sinking ship?

Investment: Is the Polish buying boom over, or just getting going?

Poland's investment market has sped away from its CEE neighbors, producing double the volume in transactions as its closest rival, the Czech Republic. Mokotow, on its own, saw more buildings trade hands than the rest of the region. But was 2010 a one-off? Will the gap in volume and yields between it, Prague and Budapest narrow in 2011? Or has Warsaw spun off into its own orbit permanently?