Owner-Occupied Housing in Europe: Postwar Developments and Current Dilemmas

Owner-occupation has become a major tenure form in Western Europe. Yet, relatively little is known about the way owner-occupation is provided, since most studies tend to concentrate only on the effects of different forms of state support for the tenure. This survey examines owner-occupied housing markets in five European countries, Britain, France, West Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Their housing markets vary substantially, but differences are especially marked between Britain and the rest of Europe. Differences in owner-occupied housing markets between these countries arise in the timing of the expansion of owner-occupation; in the relation between the building industry and dominant forms of housing promotion; in the roles played by the market for secondhand housing and in the importance of mortgage finance. One common characteristic of all these countries, however, has been the appearance of house-price inflation during the 1970s. The rising long-term trend of house prices has been punctuated by periodic booms and slumps. Market instability has helped to cause the major crises of housing production that exist in all countries. The survey concludes by indicating the dilemmas under the current structures of provision for state policies aimed at expanding owner-occupation.