The article examines the institutional and spatial determinants of housing affordability in regional capital cities of Ukraine. It argues that housing affordability cannot be adequately explained by traditional market factors alone and requires consideration of the spatial and institutional nature of land markets. The study is grounded in the theory of land rent and introduces the concept of “accessibility rent” as a mechanism through which spatial advantages and regulatory constraints are capitalized into housing prices. Methodologically, the research employs the Median Multiple indicator, which measures the ratio of median housing prices to median household income, allowing for a more accurate assessment of affordability. The empirical analysis is based on panel data for Ukrainian regional centers over the period 2015–2025. Correlation analysis to applied to identify the influence of price, income, spatial, and institutional factors. The findings indicate that housing affordability in the analyzed cities ranges between 5 and 11, corresponding to “severely” and “critically unaffordable” categories. The strongest relationship is observed between affordability and housing prices, while the impact of income remains weak and insufficient to offset price growth. The study also reveals that increased housing construction does not necessarily improve affordability, as development activity tends to concentrate in high-demand, high-price cities. Spatial constraints, including land scarcity and high density, are shown to transform agglomeration benefits into rent-driven price pressures. Special attention is given to the effects of war-related factors after 2022, which intensified structural imbalances and led to the concentration of demand in relatively safe regions. The research confirms the transformation of accessibility rent into fiscal rent, creating an institutional contradiction between local governments’ incentives to maximize budget revenues and the objective of improving housing affordability. The case of Lviv illustrates key institutional dysfunctions, including excessive densification, uncontrolled suburbanization, non-compliance with spatial planning documents, lack of land preparation mechanisms, and weak metropolitan coordination. The study concludes that the housing affordability crisis in Ukraine is fundamentally land-based and rent-driven. Improving affordability requires a systemic transformation of institutional frameworks and spatial development policies, including increasing land supply elasticity, implementing land value capture mechanisms, and strengthening metropolitan governance. 

housing affordability, land rent, median multiple, spatial planning, housing policy, urbanization, institutional constraints, land market