Housing finance in the global financial market

Executive summary

At its meeting in November 2004, the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS) established a Working Group under the chairmanship of Mr Lars Nyberg of Sveriges Riksbank to study recent changes in housing finance systems as part of the Committee's ongoing work to guard against risks to financial stability. The recent developments in housing finance in the global financial market, ie increased household indebtedness and rising house prices, have been a focus of policy in a number of central banks and perhaps also a component in monetary policy decisions. This is, however, not the focus of this report. The main objectives of the Working Group were to analyse the significance of developments affecting the supply of, and demand for, housing finance. This report documents the Group's main findings. It highlights important similarities and differences that have helped shape the evolution of national housing finance systems.

JEL classification: G21, R21, R31