Brits buy homes, the Germans rent – which of us has got it right? | Money | The Guardian

Brits buy homes, the Germans rent – which of us has got it right? | Money | The Guardian

First-time buyers in Britain are struggling. House prices remain high, mortgages are hard to come by, and deposits are difficult to find. Many are now renting until long into their 30s, but survey after survey suggests that homeownership is still the ultimate goal for a British family. Yet in Europe's most economically successful country, Germany, renting is the norm. Is the grass really grüner on the continent?

As the Germans like to say, "Jein" – or yes and no. For a start, renting is not necessarily the cheap option. In thriving cities like Hamburg, Cologne and Munich, tenants might be spending up to half their wages on rent. And the prospect of paying a landlord well into old age appeals to Germans no more than it does to the Brits.

"The interest in home ownership is certainly growing," says Dr Jan Linsin, head of research Germany at property services company CB Richard Ellis. But young Germans don't feel too frustrated if they cannot get on the property ladder, whereas the Brits do. The difference in attitude reflects the difference in the housing markets – over the past 10 years UK residential property prices have nearly doubled