The rise and rise of real estate neoliberalism

Abstract

Noting the recent ascent of the housing emergency back up the political agenda, this essay takes a materialist view on the genesis of the current crisis. Since the 1970s, the state has shifted away from its role as manager of a mixed housing economy to take on the role of engineer, particularly on behalf of financial actors. This is leading to a tendency toward the financialisation of all housing, with social housing now arguably at the forefront of this trend. A crucial symptom of the trend toward financialisation is the UK's unequal outcomes in the housing system: key outcomes in housing - such as security of tenure, quality and affordability - are all deeply unequal (although the UK is not a complete outlier when judged against comparable economies). The essay ends by making the case for analysing the current housing regime under the lens of 'real estate neoliberalism', and for the transformation of this system into one founded on 'public housing luxury'