Labour Market and Housing Unavailability

Republic, where the price to income ratio has been growing
continuously during the last three decades in all major cities, Prague
- the capital-over speeding this trend. This paper identifies key
features of recent housing market development in the Czech
Republic. We argue that the Czech case is relevant from an
international perspective as there is an obvious lock-in effect
enforced by either historical or current policy circumstances. Using
unique data from EVAL software designed for mining data from sale
and rental advertisements, we show some interesting trends in the
housing market with implications to labour mobility and structural
unemployment. The preference for property ownership in
combination with the reduction of the coal industry causes a
reduction in the mobility of the labour force and thus a reduction in
the population's purchasing power, especially in localities with
structural unemployment. The results show a significant dependence
between real estate prices and labour mobility. These results are also
important for regions affected by coal mining, as these are the less
attractive regions in the Czech Republic. The article aims to offer a
deeper insight into the relationship between housing ownership,
cross-regional migration and structural unemployment and suggests
policy solutions to improve housing availability.