The last two decades have seen a marked growth in comparative research within the field of housing studies. This reflects the increasing globalisation of housing finance and therefore the interconnectedness of housing markets, growing interest among researchers and policy makers in learning from developments in other countries and the availability of more funding and better comparative data to support their endeavours. Concurrently, comparative housing research has become more sophisticated, as research training has improved, the number of journals publishing this research has increased and researchers have become what one might call moremethodologically aware.However, despite these developments, there is no single volume book that deals with the distinct challenges that arise from comparative housing research, compared to other fields of comparative policy analysis. These challenges relate to spatial fixity of housing, its dual role as a consumption and investment good, and as the "wobbly pillar" of the welfare state, which is delivered using a complex mix of government and market supports.This volume reflects on the significant methodological strides made in the comparative housing research field during this period. The book also considers the considerable challenges that remain if comparative housing research is to match the methodological and theoretical sophistication evident in other comparative social science fields and maps a route for this journey.This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of Housing Policy.

This dynamic Research Handbook explores key perspectives, topics and methodologies used to understand housing, the home and society. Pairing social theory with a broad range of case studies from the Global North and South, it offers a unique insight into the field.

Neoliberal Housing Policy considers some of the most significant housing issues facing the West today, including the increasing commodification of housing; the political economy surrounding homeownership; the role of public housing; the problem of homelessness; the ways that housing accentuates social and economic inequality; and how suburban housing has transformed city life. The empirical focus of the book draws mainly from the US, UK and Australia, with examples to illustrate some of the most important features and trajectories of late capitalism, including the commodification of welfare provision and financialisation, while the examples from other nations serve to highlight the influence of housing policy on more regional- and place-specific processes. The book shows that developments in housing provision are being shaped by global financial markets and the circuits of capital that transcend the borders of nation states. Whilst considerable differences within nation states exist, many government interventions to improve housing often fall short. Adopting a structuralist approach, the book provides a critical account of the way housing policy accentuates social and economic inequalities and identifies some of the significant convergences in policy across nations states, ultimately offering an explanation as to why so many ‘inequalities’ endure. It will be useful for anyone in professional housing management/social housing programmes as well as planning, sociology (social policy), human geography, urban studies and housing studies programmes.

What are the current trends in housing? Is my planned project commercially viable? What should be my marketing and advertisement strategies? These are just some of the questions real estate agents, landlords and developers ask researchers to answer. But to find the answers, researchers are faced with a wide variety of methods that measure housing preferences and choices. To select and value a valid research method, one needs a well-structured overview of the methods that are used in housing preference and housing choice research. This comprehensive introduction to this field offers just such an overview. It discusses and compares numerous methods, detailing the potential limitation of each one, and it reaches beyond methodology, illustrating how thoughtful consideration of methods and techniques in research can help researchers and other professionals to deliver products and services that are more in line with residents’ needs.

This text introduces the reader to the comparative study of housing policy. It looks first at the benefits, limitations and difficulties of the comparative method, as well as the reasons behind governmental involvement in housing and particular policy choices. It then identifies and discusses key themes of value to the analysis of a range of countries in the advanced capitalist world, offering an understanding of national differences and similarities and drawing on examples from, for instance, Europe, the USA, Australia and Japan.

Available online via SciVerse ScienceDirect, or in print for a limited time only, The International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, Seven Volume Set is the first international reference work for housing scholars and professionals, that uses studies in economics and finance, psychology, social policy, sociology, anthropology, geography, architecture, law, and other disciplines to create an international portrait of housing in all its facets: from meanings of home at the microscale, to impacts on macro-economy. This comprehensive work is edited by distinguished housing expert Susan J. Smith, together with Marja Elsinga, Ong Seow Eng, Lorna Fox O'Mahony and Susan Wachter, and a multi-disciplinary editorial team of 20 world-class scholars in all. Working at the cutting edge of their subject, liaising with an expert editorial advisory board, and engaging with policy-makers and professionals, the editors have worked for almost five years to secure the quality, reach, relevance and coherence of this work. A broad and inclusive table of contents signals (or tesitifes to) detailed investigation of historical and theoretical material as well as in-depth analysis of current issues. This seven-volume set contains over 500 entries, listed alphabetically, but grouped into seven thematic sections including methods and approaches; economics and finance; environments; home and homelessness; institutions; policy; and welfare and well-being. Housing professionals, both academics and practitioners, will find The International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home useful for teaching, discovery, and research needs. International in scope, engaging with trends in every world region The editorial board and contributors are drawn from a wide constituency, collating expertise from academics, policy makers, professionals and practitioners, and from every key center for housing research Every entry stands alone on its merits and is accessed alphabetically, yet each is fully cross-referenced, and attached to one of seven thematic categories whose ‘wholes' far exceed the sum of their parts