Structural factors in the EU housing markets

Structural factors in the EU housing markets
ECB 2003

This report, prepared by the Task Force on Housing of the Monetary Policy Committee of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), examines the origins and effects of housing market fluctuations in the European Union (EU) and provides an overview of developments in EU housing markets since 1980. The emphasis is on structural aspects of the housing market that may influence the effects of monetary policy on economic activity and prices, in particular residential property price and rent dynamics, housing taxes and subsidies, and the main inter-linkages between housing markets and mortgage markets that may give rise to financial cycles. The report presents cross-country information on housing markets, often of a non-harmonised nature, and has benefited from contributions of the EU national central banks (NCBs).