If the recent economic crisis has taught journalists nothing else, it should be that when things are going well, be ready for the downturn. 

It is with this in mind that I have been scouring the horizon for signs that Poland's economy could be going sour. Day after day the good news keeps coming – Poland, for reasons that no one can quite put their finger on, keeps powering along at a healthy clip. The economy will probably grow by around 3.5 percent this year, investment continues to grow, as do salaries – albeit more slowly than pre-crisis, inflation is under control and business sentiment indicators are through the roof.

The wild success of the Warsaw Stock Exchange's own IPO evinces a tremendous amount of confidence in the bourse's – and Poland's – potential to lead the region economically.

That ought to give us pause. Europe's recovery is no sure bet. While Germany seems to have found a path toward strong growth, the PIIGS – especially Ireland – are still in turmoil, and any attempt at economic reform in France is met with strikes. Europe's recovery matters for Poland because it's Poland's biggest trading partner. Of course, Europe's downturn didn't drag Poland all the way down with it, either.

So what are the experts saying? At the CEE Insight Forum in Zagreb last week, it was interesting to hear how leaders in the real estate industry viewed the situation. As they debated the opportunity and risk of investing in real estate in CEE and Southeast Europe (SEE), the continual positive “exception” was always Poland. The region was risky, experts said, except for Poland. They didn't see a lot of money coming into the region in the short-term – except for Poland. Capital cities were still shaky – except for Warsaw.

 

One expert at the conference went so far as to say that there was a “wall of money” headed like a wave for Poland. With the country's well-publicized economic stability throughout the crisis, investors saw Poland as a “defensive position” – somewhere where they could invest relatively safely in the region while they waited for the storm to subside in other countries. The same expert also ventured that due to the wave of investment coming Poland's way, 2013 was due to be the best year in Poland's history – ever.

All of that sounds fantastic. Poles desperately want for living standards to improve, to catch up to their Western European partners, for salaries to rise and for pensioners to live more comfortably. They are tired of the 10 percent-and-higher unemployment rates and general post-communist shabbiness that exists outside of the downtowns of Poland's largest cities. That investors see Poland as a place where they can profit will hopefully mean taking long strides towards achieving those goals.

But if it does happen, watch out for 2014, because if the crisis has taught us anything, it is that the rules of economics are immutable. When the times are good, be ready for that downturn.