Local Factors Influencing The Increase In Development Activity In Selected Cities Of Poland

Development activity in Poland began to increase in the 1990's as a result of market-oriented reforms, with the process continuing to this day. The beginnings were, however, not easy due to, among others, the absence of many important legal regulations and the lack of commercial financing. The situation changed in the second half of the 1990's, positively affecting residential development activity. The years 2008 - 2009 were particularly relevant in the course of the studied trend as a sharp increase in the number of completed developer-built residential dwelling units was recorded at this time. After this period, a decline in the number of dwelling units completed by developers was recorded, which indicates its strong dependence on changes in the economic environment. Fluctuations in the number of dwelling units completed by developers were also visible before Poland's accession to the European Union. This means that the diversity of development activity is influenced by many factors.

The available literature generally states that the growth of the real estate market depends on demand. Effective demand for real estate is understood as the number of people who are willing and financially able to buy or rent a particular kind of property at different prices, at a given time and in a given market. Therefore, it can be assumed that local factors have a particular impact on the growth of development activity. However, the question arises as to which of the many local factors are important to the growth of development activity and what factors can be used by local authorities to more effectively stimulate the growth of residential housing in their area.

The aim of the paper is to determine by means of econometric instruments the significance of the impact of individual local factors on development activity in the residential housing market in the largest cities of Poland.