The core of an economic analysis of farm housing³ lies in the study of the forces and processes by which the values of farm dwellings are determined. Although this central problem of value determination underlies all economic research in farm housing, its solution, at least in the early stages of research, can probably be effected more efficiently by indirect rather than by direct means. Specifically, we need to know something about the institutional framework of the housing market and about the relationships among participants in that market if we are to approach the problem of value determination with realistic assumptions about the market situation within which those values are determined.