The ministry’s idea to increase the availability of housing has succeeded. Investment funds have limited their share in the real estate market

The regulation was supposed to be aimed directly at investment funds that massively buy apartments that were later allocated for institutional rent (so-called PRS, i.e. Private Rented Sector). The Ministry, wanting to stop this practice, proposed the introduction of 6 percent. tax on the purchase of each subsequent apartment above the fifth. The effect is immediate: investment funds have begun to withdraw from the real estate market. Although no regulation has yet entered into force, last year (compared to 2021) the number of transactions fell by 45 percent.

Earlier changes and announcements of further taxes resulted in the withdrawal of funds from the market. One such company is Catella, which specializes in investing in real estate around the world. In Poland, the fund had several investments for long-term rental, which it got rid of at the end of the year. Dariusz Węglicki, head of the Polish branch of Catelli, explains:
– Our company has decided to withdraw operations from Poland due to unfavorable conditions for performing this type of activity. First, a tax on commercial real estate was introduced, a ban on depreciation was introduced, and then there were high interest rates on loans – Catello representative lists.

All this led to the fact that investing in the PRS market in Poland ceased to be profitable. – In addition, the ideas of introducing a tax on the purchase of additional apartments above the fifth apartment finally confirmed our belief that there is no future for a business like ours in Poland – adds Weglicki.

According to Minister of Development and Technology Waldemar Buda, the restrictions are beneficial for the average family looking for an apartment because it will ultimately mean lower prices and more choice.

PRS, i.e. renting an apartment from an entity that performs the activity, is very popular in Western Europe. This sector has a particularly strong position in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark. In our country, a major player in this market is the State Real Estate Fund, which owns more than 2,000 plots. apartments for rent.

The housing sector development fund expands the Polish market with apartments for rent, which are an alternative to buying an apartment on credit. The offer is both for people who are starting their professional careers, young families, and for Poles who are not creditworthy or simply not interested in buying an apartment.

Are there favorable conditions in Poland to repeat the success of the PRS industry, similar to that in Western Europe? According to Prof. Marek Bryx (SGH), an expert in the field of infrastructure, “currently the development of this market has stopped and I do not see any prospects for strengthening the position of PRS on the domestic market, in other countries the success of such a company was possible, because many of them have been operating there for decades and created the conditions for development.An example is Germany, which has a long tradition of building rental apartments, and these companies significantly contributed to the reconstruction of this country after the Second World War.