15 YEARS OF REAL ESTATE MARKETS IN VISEGRAD COUNTRIES AND BEYOND Development in V4 countries with emphasis on the Slovak Republic

The paper deals with the development of the real estate markets in the Visegrad countries with the emphasis on Slovakia after the year 1990. The characteristic features of the period were the massive privatization including the bank institutions, introduction of the important institutional changes, and the creation of the prerequisites for the proper functioning of the real estate markets. The important impulses for the development of the real estate markets were the substantial foreign direct investments in Visegrad countries, implementation of radical economic reforms and European Union enlargement. The impact of these changes is shown in more detail in commercial and housing property areas. At the end of the paper the changes of the real estate markets in Visegrad countries are summarized and future tendencies briefly outlined