Housing markets are primarily of the local and national character. This is mostly due to the specificity of real estate (mainly its immobility),as well as historical and socio-economic determinants (influencing the structure of housing stock, the purchasing power of households in the housing market, the profitability of housing investment, the cost of financing housing). Among the crucial factors determining the development path of national housing markets one can mention their institutional organisation. Institutions, legal regulations, cultural norms create the framework within which housing markets operate. In the process of integration of the European economies, however, the trend towards the unification of institutional background of national housing markets can be seen.

The aim of the paper is to investigate the scope and dynamics of institutional convergence processes in European housing markets. Three dimensions of institutional environment of housing markets were investigated: the role of public authorities in housing sector, the ownership structure of housing stock and the housing finance system.