FORMATION OF LAND AND HOUSING MARKETS IN THE CZECH-REPUBLIC

Czechoslovakia and its successor Czech Republic, after 40 years of Com munist rule with state ownership of land and most housing, have been e ngaged deeply in restoring private ownership and recreating markets. R estitution and privatization return real property to private hands. Re stitution, return of property to prior owners, is well on its way. Pro perty not so returned is privatized: by auction, distribution of share s, or by bid. Markets are emerging; so are rent gradients and land use patterns familiar to Westerners. However, paucity of land records and price information, absence of mortgage funds, rent controls, and cont inued public ownership of much housing and farmland are among the impe diments to full market formation. Given the nation's present acute ave rsion to public planning, the role of land use planning in shaping dev elopment remains unclear.