Central banks and financial regulators are instrumental in unlocking public and private sector finance and keeping the financial system stable. The real estate sector is one of the most capital-intensive sectors of the economy and the residential sector is its largest component by far. Housing finance is special –debt is both large relative to incomes, longer-term and with related special risks for lenders and borrowers. This workshop will discuss housing’s importance for the economy, frame the complexity and workings of housing markets, set out the building blocks of a housing finance system, its products, risks and risk management systems and diverse funding. It will further discuss issues related to the deepening of the housing finance market, in particular strengthening of alternative lenders, consumer protection issues and how to understand the effectiveness and costs of finance-linked subsidies sources. The objective is to provide a useful framework for participants to analyze housing finance related regulatory and supervisory issues that may expand housing finance by the banking sector, the mortgage companies, the savings and loan institutions and micro-lenders, and do so safely.