Housing Vacancies in East German Cities: A Problem not only for Housing Policy
Peter Franz
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 2,
2001
Abstract
In numerous East German cities extreme imbalances in the housing
market have developed with the consequence of extensive housing vacancies. Primarily inner city housing units constructed in the late 19th and early 20th century and housing units constructed within the period of the socialist regime are concerned. The causes for these imbalances can be found in decisions of socialist urban planning, in demographic
factors, in oversized federal promotion of new housing construction after the German unification, and in income increases of private households. The commission “Structural Change in the Housing Economy of the New Länder“, installed by the federal government, has examined this problem and submitted preliminary political recommendations on the federal level in order to reduce the housing market imbalances. The commission recommends federal subsidies for tearing off vacant housing units within a period of ten years. A measure like this raises the question how the risk can be handled that too many flats are torn down. In addition, the commission recommends to double the subsidies for households acquiring already existing flats for own use and to halve the subsidies for households investing in newly built owner-occupied housing in East Germany. These incentives to acquire existing housing units might prove too weak because of the strong preferences of East German households to live in single-family houses. Measures on the federal level can support but cannot replace necessary concrete planning and solution strategies in the vacancy-plagued cities “in situ“.
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Social Consequences of Housing Privatization in Hungary
Jutta Günther
South East Europe Review,
No. 3,
2000
Abstract
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Regional Unemployment Differentials in Hungary: Does Housing Shortage Impede Labour Mobility?
Jutta Günther
Society and Economy in Central and Eastern Europe,
No. 4,
2000
Abstract
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Despite adjustments still specific East German consumption structure
Ruth Grunert
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 7,
2000
Abstract
From 1991 to 1998 the structure of expenditure of East German households has changed. The largest increase was in spending on housing, health care, entertainment and personal equipment. Espenditure patterns of households in East and West Germany converged. However, differences still excists. For example the expenditure share of spending on housing in East Germany is clearly lower than in West Germany.
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Explaining Regional Disparities in Housing Prices across German Districts
Lars Brausewetter, Stephan L. Thomsen, Johannes Trunzer
IZA Institute of Labor Economics,
March
2022
Abstract
Over the last decade, German housing prices have increased unprecedentedly. Drawing on quality-adjusted housing price data at the district level, we document large and increasing regional disparities: growth rates were higher in 1) the largest seven cities, 2) districts located in the south, and 3) districts with higher initial price levels. Indications of price bubbles are concentrated in the largest cities and in the purchasing market. Prices seem to be driven by the demand side: increasing population density, higher shares of academically educated employees and increasing purchasing power explain our findings, while supply remained relatively constrained in the short term.
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