Room for Development: Housing Markets in Latin America and the Caribbean (Development in the Americas (Paperback))

Latin American and Caribbean countries are the most urban in the developing world and have very high home ownership rates. However, many of the region's inhabitants are still poorly housed. This book examines three key contributing issues: high housing prices relative to family income, lack of access to mortgage credit, and high land prices.

Latin American and Caribbean countries are the most urban in the developing world and have very high home ownership rates. Many cities in the region also show high average family incomes for developing world standards. However, despite these accomplishments, many of the region's inhabitants are still poorly housed. Of the 124 million families living in the region's cities, five million rely on another family for shelter; three million live in houses that are beyond repair; and a remaining 31 million live in houses that lack either title, water, sewerage, adequate flooring, or sufficient space. Most of these dwellings and many more otherwise satisfactory homes are located in neighborhoods that lack many basic urban amenities. This book looks at both the determinants and consequences of these poor housing outcomes. Housing and neighborhood conditions strongly influence health, nutrition, education, and environmental outcomes, along with access to economic opportunities and vulnerability to social ills. The book examines, with new data sources and rigorous analytical methods presented in an accessible way, the three main related factors usually identified as key determinants of the region's poor housing outcomes: high housing prices relative to family income, lack of access to mortgage credit, and high land prices. The book also looks at the role of government policies and regulations as well as public housing programs, both at the local and federal level, in shaping housing outcomes in the region.

Latin American And Caribbean Countries Are The Most Urban In The Developing World And Enjoy Very High Home Ownership Rates. But One Look At The Shantytowns Clinging Precariously To The Hillsides Around Many Of The Region's Cities Is Enough To Know That Poor Housing Remains A Serious Problem. This Book Taps New Data Sources And Rigorous Analytical Methods As It Examines The Causes And Consequences Of Inadequate Housing. It Then Considers The Policies And Programs That Shape The Sector Today And Those That Could Reshape The Future For Many Of The Region's Residents-- Dirt Floors And Unpaved Streets : Why Housing Markets Matter -- Portrait Of A Problem : The Housing Sector -- Two Bedrooms, Two Bathrooms, And A Big Yard? Housing Demand In Latin America And The Caribbean -- To Buy Or Not To Buy : Expanding The Rental Housing Market -- Digging Up The Truth About Land Markets -- A Construction Industry In Need Of Remodeling -- Too Small To Thrive : The Housing Finance Market -- Doing It Yourself -- Hammering Out A Housing Policy That Works. César Patricio Bouillon, Editor ; Inter-american Development Bank. Includes Bibliographical References And Index Front Matter....Pages i-xxvi Introduction....Pages 1-4 Dirt Floors and Unpaved Streets: Why Housing Markets Matter....Pages 5-22 Portrait of a Problem: The Housing Sector....Pages 23-49 Two Bedrooms, Two Bathrooms, and a Big Yard? Housing Demand in Latin America and the Caribbean....Pages 51-85 To Buy or Not to Buy: Expanding the Rental Housing Market....Pages 87-107 Digging up the Truth about Land Markets....Pages 109-148 A Construction Industry in Need of Remodeling....Pages 149-185 Too Small to Thrive: The Housing Finance Market....Pages 187-210 Doing It Yourself....Pages 211-237 Hammering Out a Housing Policy That Works....Pages 239-280 Back Matter....Pages 281-318 "Latin American and Caribbean countries are the most urban in the developing world and enjoy very high home ownership rates. But one look at the shantytowns clinging precariously to the hillsides around many of the region's cities is enough to know that poor housing remains a serious problem. This book taps new data sources and rigorous analytical methods as it examines the causes and consequences of inadequate housing. It then considers the policies and programs that shape the sector today and those that could reshape the future for many of the region's residents"-- Provided by publisher