The Italian housing system and the global financial crisis

The paper describes the main traits of the Italian housing system and the relatively recent changes toward a more market driven model. It also provides an analysis of the effects of the current economic crisis on this system and discusses how government, market actors and households are dealing with it. The crisis has led to further cuts in housing policy and to the diminished economic capacity of households. In comparative terms, the impact of the credit crunch has been softened by the crucial role family traditionally plays in funding home ownership and by some policy measures. Affordability was a dramatic problem even before the crisis, especially in the rented sector. Social housing is collapsing and there is a great deal of uncertainty about the future of new programmes that were in development just before the crisis.