Housing in Slovakia has become a luxury and the market has failed to solve the crisis, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said at an international conference on affordable rental housing.
Fico pointed to a 12 percent rise in property prices this year and described buying an apartment in Bratislava as nearly impossible for ordinary people. Fico stressed that the government is ready to step in again with mortgage interest subsidies if rates rise sharply, and highlighted a new system of state-supported rental housing involving private investors. An agency for state-backed rental housing has already signed contracts with four investment partners, with more in preparation.
The opposition party PS rejected Fico’s criticism of the market, arguing that he has governed for much of the past 15 years and bears responsibility for the current situation.
MP Ján Hargaš noted that average housing prices have more than tripled since 2006 and have risen faster in Slovakia than the EU average. According to the opposition, the government has failed to present concrete long-term solutions and is now shifting the blame instead of addressing structural problems in the housing market.
Source: TASR
