ABSTRACT
Only eight years separate the publication of this third edition of Housing Policy in the United States from that of the fi rst edition. However, each edition came out under very diff erent circumstances. Th e fi rst edition of this book was written in 2004 and 2005, when the housing bubble was swelling fast. House prices were increasing rapidly, residential construction was approaching all-time highs, and mortgage lending and securitization were soaring, fueled by subprime and “exotic” mortgages. Th e question of whether the housing market was in the throes of a bubble was a matter of keen debate. Meanwhile, federal housing policy, under the leadership of George W. Bush and a Republican Congress, emphasized deregulation of fi nancial institutions and markets, and reduced spending on public housing, vouchers, block grants, and other subsidy programs (except for those involving homelessness).
