What is the financialisation of housing?

Resource overview

This resource (“What is the financialisation of housing?”; original French title: “Qu’est-ce que la financiarisation du logement ? L’habitat collaboratif comme alternative”) is a 2023 study/report published by Habitat et Participation asbl and authored by Pascale Thys. It draws on academic and activist references (including contributions by Manuel Aalbers, KULeuven) and uses Brussels as a concrete illustration while discussing trends relevant across Europe.

What “financialisation” means in housing

The report frames financialisation as the growing dominance of the financial sector over housing and land, turning homes from places to live into financial assets. It distinguishes two main forms: financialisation 1.0 (speculation) and financialisation 2.0 (securitisation/titrisation), where mortgage debt is packaged into tradable securities. The text links these dynamics to shifts in decision-making power—from households and public authorities toward banks, investors, and financial markets.

Mortgage expansion, debt, and crisis dynamics

A historical section describes the rise of regulated long-term mortgages after the 1929 crash, followed by expanding access to credit in the second half of the 20th century. The report argues that easier credit increases competition for property and pushes up prices, increasing the housing cost burden. It highlights the 2008 subprime crisis as a key moment: in Spain, it cites about 500,000 expulsions/evictions during the crisis period. It also notes tighter post-crisis macro‑prudential rules (e.g., higher down-payment requirements), which can disadvantage households without savings even when repayment capacity is strong.

Brussels and wider European indicators

Using Brussels as an example, the report links financialisation to gentrification, touristification (including short-term rental pressure), and the erosion/privatisation of social housing. It cites that public housing represents about 7% of the stock in Brussels (and about 5% in Flanders/Wallonia). It contrasts this with higher public-housing shares in other cities (Paris 19%, London 21%, Amsterdam 55%), and notes a low annual production of public units (about 110 out of roughly 3,500 new homes per year, ~3%). It also reports a 2022 count of 7,134 people experiencing homelessness in Brussels, described as an 18.9% increase versus 2020.

Renovation wave and “green” financialisation risks

The report discusses Europe’s large-scale renovation push and warns that renovation can become a vector of financialisation: rent increases and displacement for tenants, forced sales/concentration of ownership for small landlords, and new household indebtedness for owner-occupiers financing upgrades. It cites Belgian recovery-plan figures of about €5 billion in grants and €264 million in loans, and references a 35% construction cost increase between 2019 and 2023 (attributed in the text to Thierry Bauffe).

Collaborative housing as an alternative

A core argument is that collaborative housing models—cooperatives, Community Land Trusts, commons-oriented approaches, and collective savings/credit mechanisms—can reduce exposure to speculative price-setting and individualised debt risk. The report emphasises that anti-speculative outcomes depend less on legal “mechanics” alone and more on long-term governance, shared values, and enforceable rules that keep housing’s social function central.