25 Years After : What Has Changed in Central and Eastern Europe in Terms of Housing Availability and Affordability?

Access to good quality housing at reasonable price is one of the basic factors that affect human well-being. Yet, for years many residents of socialist states had to face a very problematic housing situation, because the centralised planning system failed to provide adequate housing space for everyone. The post-socialist transformation brought about an opportunity to overcome the shortcomings of the past, but it was also related to a far-reaching withdrawal of the state from the housing issues. Undoubtedly, the housing situation in the post-socialist years has improved, but the housing shortage was not completely overcome. Meanwhile, also the issue of housing affordability has gained prominence, as housing is not anymore a state-distributed resource, but it has become almost completely commodified. Within the framework outlined above, this paper takes a look at the changes of the housing situation in the post-socialist context, focusing on the Central and Eastern European countries