Volume 21 (2013): Issue 1 (May 2013)

Public sector bodies own diverse, valuable but capital-intensive assets, which require the following of all the changes taking place in their environment and their trends (conducting market analyses), as well as the anticipation of future effects of present-day actions (decisions). It seems, however, that many public bodies/entities make decisions according to current needs, hardly ever conducting market analyses or market valuation of their assets.

Today, both theory and practice offer a variety of methods - instruments supporting the process of decision-making concerning the creation of a rational structure of real property, sources of its financing, evaluation of the effectiveness of using individual fixed assets and their impact on the economic situation of each body/entity.

The purpose of this paper is to present the nature and scale of the problem of asset management, as well as the main elements of the process of the management of real property owned by public entities, based on a case study of the biggest Polish cities.

At first, we will outline the scale of the problem, including the gross value of buildings and structures and capital expenditures of the public sector. Then, we will present the definition of asset management and classification of real property as tools and conditions for effective asset management, as well as the results of empirical research conducted with officials responsible for property management in Poland's six largest cities.

The paper indentifies and synthesizes the observed changes in the role of the property valuer on the property market. The authors of this paper provide a perspective on the changes in the educational programs for valuers. The main challenge for valuation professionals lies in developing a deeper understanding of market globalization and better analytical skills, with a view to assessing accurate values. The educational system at the university level should encompass programmes which will prepare valuers for providing proper advice affecting important investment decisions of real estate market participants. They stress the role of international and national organizations in re-shaping the profile of the valuer. The current critical attitude towards the valuation profession has forced the European body representing valuers, namely The European Group of Valuers’ Associations (TEGoVA) to speed up the harmonisation of the valuation practice in order to forestall more rigorous control by the EU. In response to this, all the major internationally recognised standard setting bodies, such as the above-mentioned TEGoVA and The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), are considering the need to add “risk analysis” to valuation reports. Such development should significantly affect future valuation educational and training programmes which will need to present a more holistic approach to real estate as an asset class.

The aim of the study is to draw attention to the fact that the value of public spaces has an interdisciplinary character, and should be viewed as such. The multifaceted function of public spaces requires a thorough recognition of their role and functioning in a city, especially from the estate management point of view. The fact that well-designed and managed public spaces have a great effect on social, cultural, market and communicative behavior, makes them an axis of urban development. The extent to which public spaces affect neighboring property markets, especially when it comes to the commercial segment, is also very important. The way in which a public space is utilized, is an incentive to search for optimal directions as to how a given property should function.

The research results presented in the present paper concern three case studies of big Polish cities - Poznań, Gdańsk and Wrocław. The research incorporated sociological survey tools (questionnaire), indepth interviews and observations.

The attributes of the housing environment constitute an important part of the quality of living. Flats and houses, as other products, fulfill the complex needs of users, starting with the provision of shelter and a sense of safety, to satisfaction associated with the social context of occupancy and the perception of its aesthetic values. The housing environment, more than other functional aspects of architecture, shapes the structure of modern cities, and its high quality standards are reflected in the urban potential that promotes economic growth.

The new paradigm of sustainable consumption, which is becoming widely popular all over the world, affects housing needs and modifies the housing preferences in Poland. Changes should be monitored in reference to current housing needs in Poland, to have a better view on new trends, as present-day housing conditions affect consumers’ needs and preferences. Knowledge of the relations between the qualitative aspects of housing conditions and expectations should support architects, urban planners and local authorities in creating a functional and aesthetic housing environment endowed with the attributes attractive to occupants.

The paper is focused on presenting certain aspects of the present-day housing conditions in Poland. Out of extensive research material resulting from empirical studies, issues that concern the types of settlements, occupancy period, form of ownership (flats or houses) and utilized space have been selected. The derived information enables the evaluation and interpretation of the quality of the housing environment and the occupants’ aspirations.

The number of future sales of residential real estate in the primary developer depends mainly on the factor of demand, consumer needs for housing in established market conditions. One way to determine the future market capacity for the construction of residential demand forecasts.

The company is in a very favorable position, having a reliable forecast of future demand. Forecast has an impact on the ability to achieve the intended purpose of building and as a result allows you to minimize the risk of return on invested capital at the same time ensuring a profit.

Placed forecast future sales of apartments in the time horizon of two years in advance, taking into account a series of standardized construction, contains processed numerical data on a quarterly sale by X developer in the years from 2008 to 2012.

Erected on the basis of forecast model and found very useful model to predict seasonal fluctuations in demand numerical sale in the test development company.

The paper presents the results of a comparison of the development of mean offer and transaction prices per 1m2 in primary and secondary residential real estate markets in 16 provincial capital cities in Poland, during the time period from the 3rd quarter of 2006 to the 3rd quarter of 2012. The quarterly data came from the residential real estate price database of the National Bank of Poland (NBP). The research concerns the dependencies in the residential real estate market between the following four price categories: offer prices in the primary market, transaction prices in the primary market, offer prices in the secondary market and transaction prices in the secondary market. For each city, the dynamics of each price category per 1m2, the existence of a linear correlation between the individual mean price categories in chosen subintervals and their convergence and variability in time were studied and compared.

The specific character of the real estate market is the reason why observations of transaction prices seen as statistical variables are taken in a non-standard way. In the traditional approach each time period or specific moments of time are attributed with one observation of a studied variable per one object. In the case of the real estate market, this is not possible since transactions relate to different objects, i.e., properties, and occur at irregular, or even random, moments. This is why traditional methods used to examine the dynamics of economic phenomena must be adapted to specific conditions on the real estate market. Keeping that in mind, the aim of this paper is to adapt classical statistical examination methods of dynamics to specific conditions of the real estate market followed by the actual examination of the dynamics of real estate prices in three sub-segments of the housing market in Szczecin. On its basis, the authors evaluate various methods of examining real estate price dynamics in terms of their applicability in real estate appraisal procedures and, in a broader perspective, present characteristic phenomena that can be observed on the real estate market.

Developers’ activity in the Polish residential property market has increased considerably in the last 20 years. Developers are today right behind people building homes for themselves as the major suppliers of housing stock. Their activity shows strong spatial variations, both regarding the numbers and types of developers operating in particular markets, as well as the numbers and characteristics of their projects, such as the type of buildings, the average number of residential units per development project, an average unit size expressed in m² or as an average number of rooms, average price, the number of floors, etc. The results of the analysis of developers’ activity in local markets may provide an objective basis for establishing why the markets differ in that respect and what factors determine the expansion of developers’ activity in different regions of the country.

The purpose of this article is to characterize developers’ activity in five Polish cities and to determine how much the developers differ in their characteristics using quantitative methods and the results of author’s earlier studies.

In the economic theory, competition is considered to be a fundamental principle of the free market. Due to the competition, customers get lower prices, better service quality, more and more choices. The competition in the real estate market is a very important factor in its development. Buying or selling real estate is often one of the most important financial transactions, which require the purchaser. With the reference to the above, the participants of the real estate market need to analyse a number of transactions and do a detailed understanding of the market before making a decision and finding a deal that meets all the expectations which will not be diverging significantly from remaining offers functioning in the given area of the market. The phenomenon of competition is very advantageous for buyers of a real estate, because it shows a wide range of various possibilities which one should consider before making a final choice.

Times of crisis trigger a tendency of the growing competition in the property market, what results in a decrease in real estate prices. This article brings up the issue of price and non-price competition on the real estate market and the influence which it exerts on the decision of the purchaser. The aim of this paper is to present the phenomenon of the competition at three levels (levels), by examining what relationship occurs between the entities functioning on the market, what occurs between entities and objects, and how the entities, i.e. individual real estate, compete with each other. This study will be conducted with methods of statistical analysis of the market, however Herfindahl-Hirschman Index will be used to measure competition on the local real estate market.

Over the last several years, Poland has experienced dynamic development of linear infrastructure, mainly regarding national roads. The changes are reflected in the condition of the market of land located in the vicinity of newly constructed roads. The location of a property in the vicinity of an express road junction offers more convenient access to the labour market or sales market. On the other hand, possible negative effects include increased noise and pollution, as well as spatial continuum disturbance.

The objective of the study is the analysis of the effect of national roads on the development and dynamics of changes in prices of land in their vicinity. The estimation of the dynamics of such changes permits the determination of the stage of implementation of investments involving the highest variations of property prices. The analysis was conducted based on the following criteria: class of national roads (motorway or main express road) and the size of the urban centre located on route. The study involved the application of the Geographic Information Systems technology ArcGIS ESRI, data from the register of property prices and values, and cadastre information included on websites iGeoMap and Geoportal.