The paper starts from the premise that a future housing finance system must meet five essential goals: ensuring stability and liquidity so the future housing finance system is resilient to crises and attractive to a wide range of global investors; ensuring access and equity so  all creditworthy borrowers can get access to the system; strengthening affordable housing, including rental housing for people who need it; limiting the government's role and risk so taxpayers are better protected; and establishing incentives, competition, and innovation so a greater amount of private risk capital supports the system.