Housing and finance in developing countries: invisible issues on research and policy agendas

Housing finance has risen to the top of research and policy agendas in recent years. Yet, although our understanding of the formal delivery of housing finance has improved considerably, we know far less about households’ use and production of housing finance. This is particularly apparent in the case of four ‘invisible’ issues: land markets, rental housing, the role of savings and residential mobility. Drawing upon evidence from Botswana and Mexico, this paper considers the relationship between finance and the livelihood strategies that households adopt in order to fulfil their housing needs. On the basis of this discussion, the paper concludes by advocating a broader focus for housing finance-related research.