This review of the housing market will inform Shelter's ongoing work to increase the supply of housing in England. Specifically, this report will contribute to Shelter's consideration of the nature and potential role of government (at a national and local level) in facilitating a greater level of housing supply to support long-term sustainable economic growth and improving the position of households in housing need. The report also covers the economic characteristics of the housing market, the extent to which the structure and industrial organization of the housing market differ from other markets, and whether there are features of the housing market that constrain the potential supply of new homes. Considerable attention has been focused on the importance of land and planning issues in other work, including the Barker Review, and the government has made significant changes to the planning system. This work thus focuses on whether there are other characteristics of the housing market that may also constrain housing supply outside of the planning system.