A comprehensive issue-by-issue and country-by-country study of housing markets and housing finance markets in Central and Eastern Europe.

A comparative study on housing finance markets in central and eastern European countries.

Provides the first in-depth survey of the current situations and challenges of the development of housing finance in the major transition economies such as: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. Also includes current trends in housing finance of advanced market countries and their implications on transition economies.

The growth of urban areas and population in middle and low income countries is a continuing trend. Urbanization expands as rural to urban migration offers better income opportunities in cities. This trend is both a source of development opportunities and challenges for the housing sector. On the one hand, housing is a large and growing market, and on the other, massive slums confirm the poor housing conditions in many developing countries. These adverse conditions mirror inadequate housing policies, inefficient or absent property registration, as well as limits to access to housing finance. Provision of affordable housing is therefore an important topic in the fight against poverty. This book focuses on solutions that improve the enabling environment for the poor in accessing housing finance. It explores how to develop and integrate housing finance into a sustainable financial system for developing countries and offers ways in which low-income families can obtain better access to housing finance. This book provides a conceptual framework for housing finance development and addresses practical solutions in the provision of housing finance and compares different approaches.

This timely book addresses key challenges faced by policy makers and the house-building industry in a post-credit crunch world. It examines the implications for households, the housing market, the economy, as well as for government's policy choices. Challenges of the Housing Economy: an international perspective brings together experts from around the world to examine recent housing market trends. The contributions reveal common long-term trends in housing markets worldwide. Despite differences in supply conditions and the role of planning, there is a trend toward rising house prices that has created significant barriers to home ownership for young households while increasing the wealth of older generations. The financial crisis had a differential impact on housing markets but in many countries where mortgage finance became severely constrained, house prices fell and there was a dramatic fall in housing construction. The falls in house prices in these countries have ostensibly improved affordability but the housing markets have been dominated by the lowering of loan to values applicable to new mortgages which has further raised the hurdles to potential first-time purchasers. At the same time as young households are increasingly rationed out of owner-occupation, public sector expenditure cut-backs in many countries result in limited new social housing. Instead, value for money imperatives will mean new funding models for affordable housing that require greater use of public-private partnerships. The private rented sector could potentially meet the demand for the new generation of long-term renters. However, there are doubts - in the UK at least - that this sector will be able to expand significantly or provide an appropriate type and standard of housing. This is an essential advanced text for students and researchers of land economy and land management; property and real estate; housing policy; and urban studies.

The growth of urban areas and population in middle and low income countries is a continuing trend. Urbanization expands as rural to urban migration offers better income opportunities in cities. This trend is both a source of development opportunities and challenges for the housing sector. On the one hand, housing is a large and growing market, and on the other, massive slums confirm the poor housing conditions in many developing countries. These adverse conditions mirror inadequate housing policies, inefficient or absent property registration, as well as limits to access to housing finance. Provision of affordable housing is therefore an important topic in the fight against poverty. This book focuses on solutions that improve the enabling environment for the poor in accessing housing finance. It explores how to develop and integrate housing finance into a sustainable financial system for developing countries and offers ways in which low-income families can obtain better access to housing finance. This book provides a conceptual framework for housing finance development and addresses practical solutions in the provision of housing finance and compares different approaches.