In the aftermath of an increasing integration of property and financial markets, the real estate industry is subject to soaring internationalization processes. Since international institutional investors appeared, transnational real estate investments have increased tremendously. In recent years, Central and Eastern European countries have been becoming more attractive to institutional investors and are therefore being integrated into international market structures. Within these countries, Warsaw emerged as the most dynamic and important real estate market. But what are the mechanisms and practices through which the real estate market of Warsaw becomes international? Which networks, intermediaries and frames are necessary to constitute a mature real estate market? The article argues that international real estate consultants are playing a crucial role in the underlying internationalization process. They are acting at the interface between investors, developers, construction companies and tenants and are therefore becoming a crucial hinge between real estate actors. With the example of the Warsaw real estate market we argue that international real estate consultancies are key drivers of the transformation process from a local to a global market. They transfer global knowledge, competence and practices and implement transparent and professional structures in the emerging Warsaw real estate market
In 1989, Warsaw's office market became part of the global property market with a growing transparency. This process of integration is attributable to an increasing level of professionalism of its agents. Our main interest here is in the introduction of international design and building norms. We argue that, in the interplay between global and local property professionals, new institutional arrangements emerge that lead to the establishment of international norms and standards. Moreover, because they reduce information asymmetries on a global scale, these international property consultants, whom we can regard as 'market-making intermediaries', are key actors in the creation of these new institutional arrangements. Property consultants, as part of global communities of practice (CoPs), are at the core of establishing a joint understanding of requirements in real estate practice. Regular communication with one another about the challenges, norms, specifications and demands in the professional management of office property helps to develop shared practices.
The power of figures. Calculative practices in the real estate industry. This article examines the role and importance of calculative practices in the process of establishing a global property market. We argue that these practices have contributed to the transformation of the property market into a calculable relation which makes it possible to perceive and assess the real estate market and its objects internationally. Comparability - which includes the transformation of social, political and economic conditions into numbers - has created the context in which investment decisions take place because they suggest transparency and calculability. These practices are created and shared in a network of global real estate professionals and go along with strategies of territorializing and delineating markets. Yet, as we will argue, some local characteristics prove to be persistent and difficult to handle in global calculations. Thus, assessing global real estate markets still implies the challenge to combine local knowledge and global calculation.
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