Trends occurring in financial services are discussed, and their likely impact on housing finance is described. Three trends - a dramatic improvement in measuring risk; the changing role of intermediaries; and the globalization of the capital markets - are enabling companies like Freddie Mac to make the housing finance system more efficient with respect to the pricing and allocation of risks associated with home loans. More and more, consumers will pay prices on their home loans that are tailored to their individual risk characteristics. Moreover, they will see lower mortgage rates resulting from the transfer of mortgage credit risk to the capital markets - coupled with strong demand in the global markets for the debt of government-sponsored enterprises.