The role of housing in the recovery and development of the economy in 2004-2013

Abstract

This paper presents the role that housing plays in the shaping and development of the economy. Particular attention was paid to the description of the current housing stock, which, despite intensive development in recent years, is still far from ideal and is now showing trends that probably will make it impossible to adjust the  housing market structure to the needs of Polish economic reality. The analysis of the significance of the housing stock in the context of national income, the labour market or the financial sector, allows us to indicate the existence of strong relationships. In each of the analyzed aspects, the relationships exhibit varying degrees of linkages and, although, for example, in relation to inflation, are not always obviously supported by statistics, the economic awareness and understanding of the processes that take place in the economy indicate the existence of a substantial, albeit not always direct, correlation. Thus, the role that housing plays in the revival and development of the economy in the period analyzed should be assessed as important. This is also due to the fact that the analyzed period coincided with the years of a very clear recovery in the housing sector with a contribution, for example, in the financial sector reaching dimensions not noted before. The housing sector is, therefore, one of the key sectors of the economy and plays an important role, not only as a stimulator of economic growth, but also creates the conditions essential for the smooth functioning of the entire economy and its further development