The article presents current developments on the housing credit market. It analyses the housing situation in Poland, the problem of insufficient housing stock and the significance of satisfying housing needs of the population, as well as the role of an efficient housing sector financing system. It illustrates development trends on the real estate market over the recent years. The article addresses the problem of choosing a model of housing property financing, which is currently faced by Poland. It compares mortgage credits from universal banks to those from specialised banks, and presents methods of dealing with that problem in advanced market economies. Furthermore, it discusses the principles of operation of a mortgage bank under Polish legislation. It illustrates the advantages of housing sector financing by mortgage banks as compared to universal banks, pointing out the significance of mortgage banks for the banking system and for the population, and evaluating their development chances after several years of operation on the Polish market. The article also points to certain problems and barriers to development of mortgage banking in Poland and provides a forecast of the Polish housing sector financing system in the coming years.