Adjusting Housing Policies in Slovakia in Light of Euro Adoption

Felix Hüfner
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Felix Hüfner: OECD
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No 682, OECD Economics Department Working Papers from OECD Publishing

Abstract: House prices have risen strongly in past years, helped by rising incomes and declining interest rates. At the same time, construction of new dwellings has remained fairly muted and has only recently shown signs of picking up. A characteristic feature of the Slovak housing market, and a consequence of the privatization programme initiated in the early 1990s, is the virtual absence of a private rental market. As euro membership will most likely go along with easier financial conditions and also entails limited availability of national policy tools, current housing policies will have to be adjusted. The challenges are to avoid overheating of the housing market in the medium term, in part by making supply more reactive to demand, and to phase out the hurdles that are currently impeding the private rental market, which would facilitate labour mobility. This Working Paper relates to the 2009 OECD Economic Survey of the Slovak Republic.

Ajuster la politique du logement en Slovaquie dans le contexte de l'adoption de l'euro Les prix des logements ont fortement augmenté ces dernières années avec la hausse des revenus et la baisse des taux d’intérêt. En revanche, la construction de logements neufs est restée assez léthargique et n’a montré que récemment des signes d’accélération. L’une des caractéristiques du marché du logement en République slovaque, conséquence du programme de privatisation engagé au début des années 90, est la quasi-inexistence d’un marché locatif privé. Puisque la participation à la zone euro se traduira très probablement par un assouplissement des conditions financières tout en limitant les instruments d’action nationaux, il faudra modifier la politique actuelle du logement. L’enjeu sera d’éviter une surchauffe du marché du logement à moyen terme, notamment en agissant pour que l’offre réagisse davantage à la demande, et d’éliminer les obstacles actuels à un marché locatif privé, ce qui faciliterait la mobilité des travailleurs.

Keywords: house prices; housing policies; marché locatif; prix des logements; prêts hypothécaires; rental market; République slovaque; Slovak Republic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H21 H31 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009-03-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-tra and nep-ure
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