Britain a 'nation of homebuyers'

Posted: 10 Aug 2007 10:39:12 GMT

Britons are a nation of homeowners, with individuals placing a much greater emphasis on ownership than in other European countries.

Britons are a nation of homeowners, with individuals placing a much greater emphasis on ownership than in other European countries.

That is the message from industry figure Paul Collins, property editor at Buy Association, who says there is a culture of property ownership in the UK.

Mr Collins claims that the British market has historically been about owning properties rather than renting, arguing that there is an embedded tendency towards getting a mortgage.

"We've certainly got a property culture in terms of, not only buying property but of moving property as well," he explained.

"We buy property to let out or we buy it to do up and then we move again."

In Germany and France the situation is, for example, markedly different to the UK, as the Bulletin of Housing Statistics for Europe and North America 2006 released by the UN Economic Commission for Europe indicates.

In Germany 42 per cent of properties are owned, with 58 per cent rented – a sharp contrast to the UK, where 70 per cent of homes are owned and 30 per cent are rented.


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