Is Ukraine's housing market ready for reconstruction: three factors holding us back

Ukraine continues to live in a state of war, and that is why housing policy is no less important today than defense or economic decisions. Some people have lost their homes, some have gone abroad, and the return of our citizens depends not only on security in the country. Reconstruction cannot be a postponed project "for after the victory" – it must begin now, despite all the risks.

However, the housing market still operates largely according to pre-war logic. Regulations, procedures, and planning approaches do not correspond to the scale of losses and new needs. In peacetime, they were simply slow, but in wartime, they become a deterrent.

Statistics show that in Ukraine, there is a demand for over 600 million square meters of new housing, while more than 13% of the housing stock has already been destroyed. Even if we were to build at pre-war rates, this would mean at least 60 years of work for the industry.

Therefore, today the key issue is not only about the volume, but about what incentives we can create to activate all possible sources of financing: citizens' savings, private sector investments, international support, and state resources. Ukraine needs to create a predictable investment environment within the country, which will significantly accelerate the pace of construction and, in a realistic timeframe, provide housing for those who have lost it or need an alternative.