Housing is a crucial good for households, both as a consumer good via the flow of services it fosters, and as an essential component of a homeowner’s wealth. It is also crucial because it accounts for more than a quarter of a household’s expenses, and an increase in rent or property prices instantly has a major impact on their living standards, choice of location, mobility, and savings options. Finally, housing is unique as an element of space‑time, space and time that cannot be separated in this instance. These themes are examined in this special issue, with a variety of approaches and different perspectives, providing valuable information on a number of outstanding issues. Economists can propose a thousand reasons, among which are the fact that it makes up the largest share of household budgets, the largest share of their wealth, a basic good that has an impact on poverty and inequality, a marker of segregation, a crucial catalyst in the 2008 financial crisis, and lastly because its price has been on the rise since the mid‑1990s. Housing economics is becoming a field of study in its own right in France and this is a good thing. This is illustrated by the publication of this special issue of Economieet Statistique/Economics and Statistics as well as the recent issue of Annals of Economics and Statistics. These editorial initiatives are to be commended as they demonstrate a desire to bring scientific knowledge up to par with that of other developed countries, particularly the United States. It is significant, moreover, that Economieet Statistique/Economics and Statistics welcomes a number of contributions from European economists for the occasion. Naturally, the ten studies compiled could not adopt the same point of view. Before looking at the issue covered in each article, a crucial original conceptual feature of housing should be highlighted. Housing is an element of space‑time, which cannot be separated in this instance.