International developer Trei Real Estate, alongside investment management group Kingstone Real Estate, have unveiled plans for a long-term, collaborative venture to developing rental housing projects in major Polish cities.
In the near term, the venture will launch an investment vehicle for the onboarding of interested investors. Kingstone will handle the fundraising by identifying and approaching investors, set up the respective investment structure, and be responsible for the fund and asset management.
Trei will act as co-investor and developer, acquire the building plots, execute all construction processes, and coordinate sale of investment upon completion alongside its partner. Plots of land in Warsaw and Poznan have already been earmarked for the collaboration.
Pepijn Morshuis, CEO of Trei Real Estate, commented: 'Demand for modern rental apartments is definitely strong in Poland, whereas supply is very tight. The vast majority of Poles owner-occupy their homes, as the private rented sector is only just beginning to evolve.
'Yet the younger generation prefers to rent modern, high-quality apartments over owner-occupancy in order to remain mobile and to keep from tying up their capital. However, demand for rental apartments outpaces supply, especially in the major cities.
'The shortfall on the Polish housing market is estimated to approximate 1.5 million rental apartments, which compares to a present stock of about 10,300 as-new rental apartments – highlighting the urgent need for investments.'
A pipeline with the first secured projects to be developed within the scope of the collaborative venture is already in place.
With successful ownership apartment projects already completed and ongoing developments in Lodz, Wroclaw and Warsaw, Trei is now moving ahead with its first rental apartment developments. Its initial two rental housing projects in Warsaw and Poznan have progressed to an advanced stage.
Actual construction will start in Poznan in Q4 2023 and in Warsaw during the first half of 2024. Other cities with high potential for rental apartment developments include Krakow, Wroclaw, Lodz, Katowice and Gdansk.
Poland’s private rental housing market currently accounts for just one percent of the entire housing market, leading to growth opportunities, according to the venture.
Philipp Schomberg, co-founder and executive partner of Kingstone, said: 'We are aware of enormous potential on the Polish rental housing market, yet there have been few projects so far that investors could actually invest in.
'Our plan is to present the rental housing projects of Trei as a platform to investors in order to generate a total investment volume ranging in the triple-digit millions.'
