While this growth can in part be explained by changing household characteristics, public policy has also played a role in increasing home ow nership rates. In a number of OECD countries, a public policy push for home ownership for all segments of the population, and especially among credit-constrained households, has shown its limitations in the years since the crisis that began in 2008. Leading up to the crisis, lower income households were encouraged, via the relaxation of down-payment constraints, among other incentives, to take on mortgages to purchase a home.