Housing area (6)
I believe the answer is:
estate
'housing area' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for estate that I've seen before include "Property with considerable land" , "Rank - housing development - what's left in a will" , "All money and property owned at time of death" , "Scheme of new houses" , "Group of suburban houses or industrial units" .)