Poland is a former Soviet country that has experienced massive liberalisations of the economy since the fall of Communism, and is one of the greatest success stories of the former Soviet states. Add to this recent EU membership and there is a perfect recipe for investment growth – what is essentially a new economy with the full backing and support of the European Union is something more than likely to experience huge growth in the not-too-distant future. Property prices are still low even though they are consistently rising, and tourism – essentially another new market – is on the increase annually. Foreign investment is also on the increase and funding from the EU will be available to the country from 2006, meaning Poland has a strong safety net financially and can afford to grow economically.

The main cities of Warsaw and Krakow are the most inhabited and popular in the country, so property in these cities is more expensive than elsewhere – even though this is the case, prices are still cheap, especially when compared to other large European countries. More rural towns are widespread through Poland and a great number of them are not as modern as the main cities – not even having entered the 20th Century, as some would say. These regions offer incredibly cheap property and land, and though they aren’t incredibly popular tourist regions right now, the nature of Poland’s economy and the incredible friendliness of the Poles as a people means that given a few years they will be. Rural areas would mean a long-term investment, but growth potential is very good, especially with such cheap prices.

An economic transition that is heralded as a success story, EU membership and funding, ever increasing levels of tourism, beautiful landscapes and cheap property mean Poland should be on any budding off plan investors list.