The main objective of the project is determine whether there exist “transitive”, institutionally and culturally specific factors behind the high prices and low financial affordability of older and new owner-occupied housing in Prague, and to estimate their influence and the possible consequences of their elimination. If they are shown to have a significant influence the project’s conclusions could signify an important shift forward in the field of European research on how the housing market functions. An analysis of the causes of the high prices of housing would also contribute to increasing the transparency of the Czech housing market and could become an important source of information for those who formulate housing and social policies. The methodological approach combines elements of econometric analysis and quantitative and qualitative sociological methods. The effort to identify the causes behind the rigidity of the housing market from the perspective of value orientations and the subjective attitudes of the main actors in involved represents an innovative approach to the issue.
