6 reasons for home ownership

Are you considering buying a house or apartment? Tired of renting? There is a lot to be said for home ownership - we give you six good reasons.

1. Property protects against poverty

Many tenants face poverty in old age, warned the Pestel Institute in 2018. According to the study, forty percent of today's 45- to 55-year-olds will receive a statutory pension of less than € 800 per month. Even average rental costs can put these people in financial difficulties. The researchers' conclusion: home ownership, no matter how small, increases the standard of living in old age.

2. House beats share

“Residential real estate and not stocks, for example, have been the best long-term investment since 1870,” says Moritz Schularick, professor of economics at the University of Bonn.

Professor Schularick compared the return development of stocks and residential real estate between 1870 and 2015. Result: Real estate performs better with an average annual return of 8.7 percent than shares with an average of 7.8 percent.

3. Your own home makes you happy

Your own four walls awaken happiness hormones. Owners are not only significantly more satisfied with their living situation than tenants, a study by the University of Hohenheim shows. Real estate owners also feel happier and more committed to society.

A beautifully decorated home releases happiness hormones.

Photo: living4media / Jalag / Szczepaniak, Olaf

4. Homeowners save themselves rich

The property has earned its good image as a pension. Because homeowners are significantly wealthier than tenants on the eve of their retirement: their net assets are almost six times as high. It is not only the value of the property that contributes to prosperity. Owners also accumulate more financial assets. Researchers explain this with the different consumption and savings behavior: Anyone who has been providing home finance for years is apparently largely immune to the attraction of costly purchases in the long term.

5. Please move in yourself

What is more lucrative? Renting an apartment or moving in yourself? A university professor did the math: if you own your own property, you have twenty percent more assets than the landlord after 30 years. Because owner-occupiers save rent. It works like an additional tax-free income.

Moving in yourself is more lucrative than renting.

Photo: fotolia / New Africa

6. Live up to 33 percent cheaper

In your own four walls, the housing costs are a good third cheaper than in comparable rental apartments. A study by the Institute of German Business shows that the financing costs of property across the Federal Republic are significantly cheaper than the cold rents of comparable rental properties.