Introduction of a Polish REIT Regime: Assessment Study for Poland based on Cross-Country Comparisons

Polish government has contemplated introducing the REIT format into Polish legislation, allowing for formation of REITs in Poland for investment purposes. However, by the start auf 2021, Polish REIT (PL-REIT) legislation has not been enacted. Other countries have specific but not necessarily consistent growth trajectories with the introduction of REIT vehicles. United States of America saw a strong growth in market capitalization especially with the begin of the 1990s, transforming US REITs into a very important attractor for capital in the real estate investment market and offering investment opportunity into REIT shares both for private and institutional clients, Germany on the contrary has seen less dynamic growth with unsatisfactory market momentum of its G-REIT market. It is therefore assumed important to identify the drivers that cause success or failure of an investment vehicle and its regulatory framework in the light of country specific market preconditions. The research focus of the paper is cross-country comparison between the US and German REIT markets aimed to deduct the success factors that help formulate the preconditions and framework required to establish a feasible PL-REIT structure and outline the factors that improve chances for a viable PL-REIT market introduction and market growth. The paper´s focus is looking at the framework of PL-REIT introduction by looking at the Polish real estate investment market´s market size, types of investment vehicles and market potential, including regulatory factors.