ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the importance of Housing and Urban Development mission to provide an adequate supply of "decent, safe and sanitary housing" for all Americans. It discusses the way the housing market works and the characteristics that set it apart from other markets for consumer goods. The chapter explores the legislative pledge to provide decent housing for all, especially for the poor living in substandard housing; the quantitative national housing goals established in 1968; the difficulties of measuring total housing need; and the difficulty of measuring the amount of substandard housing. The interplay of housing supply and housing demand—what any market is about—is primarily a local matter. There are as many housing markets as there are cities and towns where houses are bought and sold. The federal and local governments also influence the housing market indirectly—among the many ways are the property tax, tax exemptions, and the federal income tax.
