The cities of Central Europe have now experienced fifteen years of post-socialist transition. In many respects, they started with similar structural patterns, but they have developed rather differently during this period. Thus, both the predictions formulated at the beginning of the transition and the assumption of only one model of the post-socialist city, needed revision in the course of the process. After reviewing major prognoses of the outcomes of urban transition from the beginning of the 1990s, the focus of this paper will be on the development of neighbourhoods in the inner city areas of Leipzig (Germany) and Brno (Czech Republic). In both towns, these neighbourhoods constitute a significant part of the urban fabric and built local heritage. It is argued that despite similar structural patterns still evident in the 1990s (physical dilapidation, population losses and ageing, restitution of property), the transition pathways have since departed from each other. Differences have emerged concerning tenure structures, the situation of the rental market and housing mobility patterns, all of which will make the two paths even more dissimilar in the future. From a theoretical point of view, it is maintained that the simple category of change is not sufficient to understand and explain the multi-faceted processes of urban transition. Therefore, a broader typology of change, revitalisation, continuity and persistency is suggested.