The aim of the European Network for Housing Research is to enhance the scientific quality and practical relevance of housing research in Europe. The political, economic and institutional integration of Europe spanning from Ireland to Caucasus opened wide geographical area for concern of housing research within an “enlarged” Europe. Europe now includes well established market economies in west as well as newly established democracies with an ongoing transformation of not only institutional structures but more importantly of social structures, cultural values, regional systems and cities as well as housing.
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.
The shrinkage of some spatially excluded city neighborhoods, informal settlements and increasing number of European citizens without permanent housing became challenges for housing policies and housing regeneration programs. It should be an imperative of contemporary housing and urban research to pay attention not only to unification through the application of similar institutional regulations and the operation of globalized markets, but also to housing disparities between various parts of Europe as well as to the increasing segmentation of housing markets within individual states, regions and cities.
Growing levels of homeownership, often supported by state policies, bring new benefits but also fairly unknown market risks. The liberalized mortgage markets in low inflation environment contributed to unprecedently long house price appreciation exceeding by far the development of household incomes after 2000. The current years seem to be turning points in this trend but there is still very little knowledge whether the period of record price increases will be followed by long-term and deep price corrections or this “new” economic environment created a basis for the “new” market equilibrium. We still lack the good knowledge even about how to measure house prices and what would be the best methods to map the markets and effectively regulate them.
Even more complex situation may be found in transition post-communist countries or developing countries where housing cultures of the West are mixed with traditional forms of housing provision and consumption. When taking into account path dependency in institutional dynamics such a mix created very specific market environments we know only little about. The papers should therefore meet the challenges that changing housing markets create. Panel discussions should pool different experience and knowledge from the best European academics in this field and increase our knowledge about still more and more powerful housing markets.
