Housing Finance in the United States: The Transformation of the U.S. Housing Finance System

Kent Colton

W02-5: By many standards, the United States has the best housing finance system in the world. However, the system has seen many changes and modifications over the last fifty years and throughout the twentieth century, and one of its greatest certainties has been change. To understand where we are now, it is worth reflecting on the transformations that have taken place. Over the last century, the housing finance system has seen three major revolutions…