We examine the extent to which markets enable the provision of housing finance across a wide range of countries. Housing is a major purchase requiring long-term financing, and the factors that are associated with well functioning housing finance systems are those that enable the provision of long-term finance. Across all countries, controlling for country size, we find that countries with stronger legal rights for borrowers and lenders (through collateral and bankruptcy laws), deeper credit information systems, and a more stable macroeconomic environment have deeper housing finance systems. These same factors also help explain the variation in housing finance across emerging market economies. Across developed countries, which tend to have low macroeconomic volatility and relatively extensive credit information systems, variation in the strength of legal rights helps explain the extent of housing finance. We also examine another potential factor the existence of sizeable government securities markets that might enable the development of emerging markets’ housing finance systems, but we find no evidence supporting that. Housing is for many households around the world both the largest expense and the most important asset. For all households it is an important determinant of quality of life. For the majority in developed countries, and for some in emerging market economies, housing is adequate. But a significant proportion of the world’s population does not have access to adequate and affordable housing. According to UN-Habitat (2005), roughly one billion people, or one-third of the world’s urban population, live in slums. And a well-functioning housing market influences not only shelter concerns. At a basic level, a country’s housing sector can help to improve public health (by reducing the likelihood of outbreaks of disease) and stimulate economic growth (through its own job creation, but also as workplaces for home-based entrepreneurs). The best housing sectors should enable the adequate provision of shelter across all segments of the population.