ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the housing problems in South-Eastern Europe (SEE) both at national and regional level, and discusses the lines for future reforms that will enable the adjustment to the European standards. In addition to country specific elements of the transition, the SEE region experienced political instability, internal and international political conflicts and dramatic migration, which created unstable circumstances for the housing sector. According to data from the 1980s, the biggest increase of the number of housing units occurred in the SEE country group. Financial and affordability indicators belong to the relatively more difficult indices, because these are based on household income, real estate prices, and bank lending. The lack of a rental sector in the region contributes very much to the growing affordability problems. The distorted tenure structure, the lack of the rental sector, especially private rental sector, has very harmful effects.
