Due to the financialization of housing in today's market, housing risks are increasingly becoming financial risks. Financialization refers to the increasing dominance of financial actors, markets, practices, measurements and narratives. It also refers to the resulting structural transformation of economies, firms, states and households. This book asserts the centrality of housing to the contemporary capitalist political economy and places housing at the centre of the financialization debate.

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. Presenting a diverse range of case studies from the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain, the chapters in this book include coverage of the role of the state as the driver of financialization processes, and the part played by local and national histories and institutions. This cutting edge volume will pave the way for future research in the area.

Where housing used to be something "local" or "national", the two-way coupling of housing to finance has been one crucial element in the recent crisis. It is time to reconsider the financialization of both homeownership and social housing. This book will be of interest to those who study international economics, economic geography and financialization.

About the Author

Manuel B. Aalbers is Associate Professor of Human Geography at KU Leuven/University of Leuven, Belgium, where he leads an ERC project and research group on the intersection of real estate, finance and states.

Reviews

"The book is largely successful in foregrounding the inviolable links between housing and financialized capitalism and will serve as a good introduction to an inter- or multidisciplinary and non-expert audience" - Bjarke Skaerlund Risager, Department of Philosophy and History of Ideas, Aarhus University

"The Financializaton of Housing: A Political Economy Approach, a new book by Manuel Aalbers, is the most comprehensive attempt I've seen to outline this process and its consequences....the great strength of the book is the way it draws together the impact of financialisation across different markets, countries and tenures." - Jules Birch, editor of Welsh Housing Quarterly

"The book will be of cross-disciplinary interest and will appeal to economists, economic geographers and anyone interested in housing systems, financialisation and the conceptualisation of increasing global interdependencies and their consequences. Certainly recommended reading for any housing scholar."

Ryan Powell, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, University of Sheffield, International Journal of Housing Policy

Book Information
ISBN 9781138092907
Author Manuel B. Aalbers
Format Paperback
Page Count 158
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 264g