The importance of the housing market for the housing opportunities of immigrants

It is a general trend in Western countries that the place of residence and housing situation of immigrants differ from that of the native population. Immigrants frequently reside in low quality and overcrowded housing, often rental housing and often located in deprived and decayed neighbourhoods. This can to some extent be explained by lower incomes, discrimination and preferences for particular kinds of housing and neighbourhoods. But housing policies and urban planning also play a decisive role in shaping the housing opportunities of immigrants. This chapter focuses on the importance of housing market structures for the housing opportunities of immigrants. It discusses how immigrants' housing preferences interact with housing market conditions, and how this determines their housing situation. The last part of the chapter illuminates how the differences in the housing situation of immigrants across European countries are connected to differences in welfare systems and in housing market structures.