The Blackwell Companion to the Economics of Housing will help students and professionals alike to explore key elements of the housing economy: home prices, housing wealth, mortgage debt, and financial risk. Features original essays, including an editorial introduction and three section overviews. Includes world-class authors from a mix of educational and financial organizations in the UK, Europe, Australia, and North America. Broadly-based, scholarly, and accessible, serving students and professionals who wish to understand how today's housing economy works. Profiles the role and relevance of housing wealth; the mismanagement of mortgage debt; and the pitfalls and potential of hedging housing risk. Key topics include: the housing price bubble and crash; the subprime mortgage crisis in the US and its aftermath; the links between housing wealth, the macroeconomy, and the welfare of home-occupiers; the mitigation of credit and housing investment risks. Specific case studies help to illustrate concepts, along with new data sets and analyses to illustrate empirical points.