ABSTRACT
At the end of the second decade of the new millennium, the global housing crisis is far from being overcome, and has gained a new face, at least in some European and US cities: the financialization of rental units. In each country, the new ideas confronted existing national welfare systems and housing policy coalitions, so that financialization of housing can assume different forms that differ from each other not only in their origin, but also in the kind of impact they have on economies, cities, and people’s lives. Policies and institutions were created in order to deregulate housing finance systems, privatize council housing, and reduce public expenditures—except those related to fiscal benefits and other forms of subsidy for homeownership. In terms of homeownership promotion, important changes occurred in the domain of housing finance. Although the number of houses has increased, a boom in housing prices, including rent, made access to housing less affordable for the poor, increasing the housing deficit.
