The International Housing Finance Program was initiated in 1985. It is part of the Samuel Zell/Robert Lurie Real Estate Center of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and draws on faculty of the Wharton Finance and Real Estate Departments as well as specialists from the private sector.

Our purpose is:

• To provide objective and state-of the art education to housing finance industry leaders and policymakers in housing finance system development, innovative financial instrument design, risk assessment methods, and housing policy analysis.

• To assist academic and professional training institutions in emerging economies to establish quality housing policy and housing finance education and research capabilities.

• To provide research and advisory services to governments and private and non-profit housing institutions on policy reform and technical and institutional issues related to housing finance.

With the increasing demand for quality housing and the worldwide innovations in financial markets, the need for objective and comparative education and analysis in housing finance is growing. As an independent program, with access to world-class teachers and practitioners in the housing finance field, the Wharton IHFP is in a unique position to provide such education and analysis.

The IHFP pools together the resources and expertise of the Wharton School Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center and industry practitioners to offer executive education and advisory services that are relevant and innovative.