Housing

Most Germans don't worry about owning their home. They just don't care and that is a fact. The country’s homeownership rate ranks among the lowest in the developed world, and nearly dead last in Europe, though the Swiss rent even more. Here are comparative data from 2004, the last time the OECD updated its numbers. (Fresh comparisons are tough to find, as some countries only publish homeownership...

Whether to rent or buy the place you intend to live in is such a critical decision that everyone will have to make sooner than later. It doesn’t just affect how much money you have left at the end of the month, it also affects your lifestyle and the size of the savings you accumulate over the years. Every day, people buy homes when financially they’d be better off renting because it’s important to...

When it comes to buying vs. renting a house, there is always a passionate debate about which makes the most financial sense. Both sides have valid points, so it can be a bit confusing. For example, in the US, recent changes in the tax law have also made owning a home less financially advantageous, so the buy vs. rent dispute continues to evolve. A common argument for buying is, ‘Why would you pay...

Across the world and especially in the developing world, housing remains one of the critical development challenges because of the huge gap between the supply and demand for housing. Consequently, some have described the situation as a global crisis. In broad terms, the housing question is largely a case of housing demand outstripping supply and/or the price of housing is over and above the wage of the...

Kiosk Estates are springing up across Ghana's major cities in light of high rent charges and the unregulated nature of Ghana's property rental market. This phenomenon has been on the ascendency over the decades but there seems to be no hope in sight. Hundreds of thousands of these slum dwellers, some of which Rentchamber had conversations with, are hard-working citizens who deserve better accommodation....