The inspiration for this book came from two sets of discussions in 1997 and 1998. One set was with housing finance consultants and policy advisers working in the central European states of Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic and in the Russian Federation. The other set of discussions was with officials and knowledgeable observers in the countries in southeastern Europe and nations other than Russia in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). These conversations illuminated a disturbing pattern. First, the types of homeownership policies and related housing finance policies the bellwether reform states of central Europe were pursuing appeared to have serious limitations. Second, the countries of southeastern Europe and the CIS outside of Russia generally seemed to be strongly influenced by what their colleagues to the north and west were doing. Because these nations had yet to tackle restructuring homeownership policies beyond implementing mass housing privatization schemes, this influence could be decisive