The role and the “power” of housing and mortgage markets is quickly changing around the world especially by increasing influence these markets have on wider economy and sustainable development of many societies (social cohesion). While many conditions especially in economic and institutional spheres stimulate certain convergence and integrations of housing markets, many locally specific conditions namely in social and cultural areas contribute to differences and segmentations within housing markets. Unification and differentiation go hand in hand. Integration and segmentation of housing markets are two sides of the same coin. While market integration is following the globalization of financial flows, rising popularity of residential investments in abroad or capital pooling in the field of building materials´ production and housing development; the increasing income inequalities, worsening of housing affordability, ethnic segregation, social exclusion and new poverty are mostly cited to be behind growing markets segmentation.
