La finanziarizzazione del bene casa: accesso al credito e disuguaglianze sociali

Abstract

This article investigates the financialization of housing in Italy. The evolution of the regulatory framework for credit had a key role to explain the financialization of households and, particularly, the spread of mortgages among them. Moreover real estate investment funds favored households’ financial strategies and transformed houses in pure financial asset. The consequences of these financialization processes are then analyzed through an empirical analysis, within the theoretical framework of social inequalities. At first glance access to credit for a larger number of households can be considered as a positive process capable to lessen inequalities in housing market; however, as empirical data analysis shows, it could represent a device for the reproduction of the same inequalities. Indeed the most advantages households are most likely to have access to credit and having a mortgage represents not an indicator of weakness but as opposed a strength’s one in the financial market.