This innovative book analyses the role played by real estate markets in global financial stability and examines the fragile link between the two.Through what transmission channels do housing market cycles influence broader economic systems? How has the Global Financial Crisis shifted our view and understanding of these linkages? This detailed book answers these questions in an international comparative perspective. Specific topics covered include macroeconomic transmission channels of the housing cycle, the role of housing in the finance system, construction financing as a cycle amplifier, and various related public policy issues such as the policy remedies needed to deal with housing and mortgage-driven crises. Eminent scholars in the field provide insightful and original contributions, which will appeal to academics in the areas of macroeconomics, policy analysis and financial regulation. Practitioners involved in real estate and the mortgage market will also find it to be of interest. Contributors: C.-O. Chang, M.-C. Chen, M. Cho, G. Dell'Ariccia, H.-J. Dubel, M. Hwang, M. Iacoviello, D. Igan, K. Kim, K.-H. Kim, Y.I. Kim, C.-M. Lee, Y.-M. Lee, J.-y. Son, I. Song, S.H. Suh, M.J. Tcha, S. Wachter, T.T. Yang, J.Y. Zhang