Scientists discuss global changes in the housing market

Prague - Investment in residential properties worldwide is rising on one hand, but on the other hand, housing is becoming increasingly less affordable. These trends in the housing market were discussed today by scientists from around the world on the first day of the international conference ENHR 09 Prague - Changing Housing Markets. Lectures and seminars are taking place at the University of Economics in Prague and will last until Wednesday.
About 350 economists, sociologists, architects, and urban planners from around the world attended the conference, highlighting these trends and other factors, such as ethnic segregation and poverty. According to the scientists, these factors significantly influence economic growth and the sustainable development of societies. Experts on housing are attempting to analyze these impacts at the Prague conference.
Issues related to housing and mortgages are particularly relevant now - in the time of economic crisis. For example, in the USA, the sale of new single-family homes decreased by 0.6 percent month-on-month in May. This was reported by the Department of Commerce last Wednesday. Sales fell to an annualized 342,000 homes from a revised 344,000 homes in April. Year-on-year, sales plummeted by nearly a third. Conversely, the sale of existing homes increased by 2.4 percent month-on-month to an annualized 4.77 million, marking a rise for the second consecutive month. This information was provided last Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). According to the NAR, the market is slowly beginning to recover from the severe economic recession, but the recovery remains very fragile.
Despite the crisis, new apartments continue to emerge within large development projects. This is also true for the Czech Republic. For example, in Prague's Prosek, Skanska Reality will begin the construction of 237 new apartments. The company Sidi Czech Republic aims to obtain occupancy permits for another 251 apartments in Prague's Stodůlky by this November.