Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an overview of housing subsidy programs and of regulations that attempt to make housing available to the disadvantaged. It sets the rest of the book in context by summarizing key trends and patterns in the housing market. The book describes how the nation’s housing finance system has evolved since the start of the 20th century. It provides a particular emphasis to the mortgage crisis that began in 2007 and its impact on the housing finance system. The book focuses on the importance of federal tax policy to housing. It details different ways in which the federal government uses the tax code to subsidize homeowner and, to a much lesser degree, rental housing. The book looks at the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the most important tax incentive for producing affordable housing and the largest active subsidy program for rental housing today.