Abstract

A global wall of money is looking for High-Quality Collateral (HQC) investments, and housing is one of the few asset classes considered HQC. This explains why housing is increasingly becoming financialized, but it does not explain its timing, politics and geography. Examples from the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain illustrate not only the emergence and commonalities of housing financialization but also the continued relevance of national as well as local histories and institutions. Due to the financialization of housing, housing risks are increasingly financial market risks these days—and vice versa. Yet, the relations between housing and financialization remain under-researched and under-theorized. Since the 1970s, mortgage markets have been transformed from being a '”facilitating market” for homeowners in need of credit to one increasingly facilitating global investment. Likewise, subsidized rental housing has become exposed to global financial markets through the use of social housing bonds and financial derivatives as well as through the rise of financialized landlords such as private equity firms and real estate firms listed at the stock exchange.