{{Short description|Status of a person who owns their home}} {{housing}} '''Owner-occupancy''' or '''home-ownership''' is a form of [[housing tenure]] in which a person, called the '''owner-occupier''', '''owner-occupant''', or '''home owner''', owns the [[home]] in which they live.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Koren |first=Liran |date=2022-04-13 |title=Owner-Occupied vs. Non-Owner-Occupied Real Estate: What’s the Difference? |url=https://luxurypropertycare.com/owner-occupied-vs-non-owner-occupied/ |access-date=2023-07-28 |website=Luxury Property Care |language=en-US}}</ref> The home can be a [[house]], such as a [[single-family detached home|single-family house]], an [[apartment]], [[condominium]], or a [[housing cooperative]]. In addition to providing [[housing]], owner-occupancy also functions as a [[real estate investing|real estate investment]]. [[File:Housing_Ownership_Types.png|thumb|Housing can vary widely in occupant ownership status and [[public investment]].]]
== Acquisition == Some homes are constructed by the owners with the intent to occupy. Many are [[inheritance|inherited]]. A large number are purchased as new homes from a [[real estate development|real estate developer]] or as an existing home from a previous [[landlord]] or owner-occupier.
A house is usually the most expensive single purchase an individual or family makes and often costs several times the annual household income. Given the high cost, most individuals do not have enough [[saving|savings]] on hand to pay the entire amount outright. In developed countries, [[mortgage loans]] are available from financial institutions in return for [[interest]]. If the homeowner fails to meet the agreed repayment schedule, a [[foreclosure]] (known as a repossession in some countries) may result.
Many countries offer aid to prospective homebuyers to make their purchases. These measures include grants, subsidized mortgages, and mortgage guarantees. Prospective homebuyers may have to meet certain [[Means test|means-tested]] qualifications to qualify for government aid, such as being a first-time homebuyer or having an income below a certain threshold.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oecd.org/els/family/PH2-1-Public-spending-support-to-home-buyers.pdf| title=Public spending on financial support to homebuyers| access-date=21 September 2020| website=OECD| date=16 December 2019}}</ref>
== Pros and cons == Perspectives regarding the benefits and risks of owner-occupancy are not universally accepted and depend on individual circumstances and motivations.
Home ownership gives occupants the right to modify the building and land as they please (subject to government, [[homeowner association]], and deed restrictions), protects them from [[eviction]], and creates a right to occupation which can be inherited. Passed-down properties can be rented (as in intentional or [[Accidental landlord|accidental landlording]]) or sold as part of an [[Estate (law)|estate]]. In some jurisdictions, it also confers certain legal rights with regard to [[abutter|abutters]].
Houses and the land they sit on are often expensive, and the combination of monthly [[mortgage loan|mortgage]], insurance, maintenance and repairs, and property tax payments are sometimes greater than monthly rental costs. Buildings may also gain and lose substantial value due to real estate market fluctuations, and selling a property can take a long time, depending on market conditions. This can make home ownership more constraining if the homeowner intends to [[Relocation (personal)|move]] at a future date. Some homeowners see their purchase as an [[Commodification of housing|investment]] and intend to sell or to rent the property after renovating or letting the house appreciate in value (known as [[flipping]] if done quickly). In 2024, the median American homeowner's net worth was about USD $400,000, and the median American renter's net worth was USD $10,400.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Delouya |first=Samantha |date=2024-12-16 |title=The median renter in America has a net worth of $10,400. The median homeowner’s net worth is $400,000 {{!}} CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/16/economy/renter-homeowner-net-worth-gap |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>
Renting may be more beneficial than owner-occupancy when the renter requires flexibility in moving to where work opportunities are.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100961300|title=The Advantages of Renting}}</ref> When a long-term work situation is settled upon, the renter may then reassess the costs of renting and home ownership.
Traditionally, home ownership has been encouraged by governments in Western countries (especially [[English-speaking countries]]) because it was one way for people to acquire [[generational wealth]] under the [[commodification of housing]], it was believed to encourage savings, and it was thought to promote [[civic engagement]]. However, the housing market crash during the [[2008 financial crisis]] in most of the English-speaking world has caused academic and policy-makers to question this logic.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2009/04/16/shelter-or-burden | newspaper=The Economist | title=Shelter, or burden? | date=2009-04-16}}</ref>
==Political influence== Owning a home influences how an individual views the role of government. Data from [[OECD]] countries shows that when housing prices rise, individuals are more critical of the [[welfare state]]. Conversely, when housing prices drop, homeowners are more likely to favor government intervention. In the US, areas with high rates of homeownership have higher levels of [[voter turnout]]. There is also a weak relationship between homeownership and supporting Republican candidates. Data from the UK supports the idea that homeowners view the value of their home as a kind of private, informal insurance policy against economic shocks. A sufficiently valuable home protects the owner without need for government intervention.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-071146|doi-access=free|title=The Politics of Housing|year=2019|last1=Ansell|first1=Ben W.|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|volume=22|pages=165–185}}</ref>
[[José Luis de Arrese]], the [[Falangist]] [[Ministry of Housing (Spain)|minister of housing]] in [[Francoist Spain]] explicitly called for "a Spain of home owners" rather than "proletarians".<ref name="Arrese">{{cite news |last1=de Arrese |first1=José Luis |title="No queremos una España de proletarios sino de propietarios" - Archivo Linz de la Transición española {{!}} Fundación Juan March |url=https://www.march.es/es/coleccion/archivo-linz-transicion-espanola/ficha/no-queremos-espana-proletarios-sino-propietarios--linz%3AR-73814 |access-date=12 October 2025 |work=www.march.es - ABC |date=1959-05-02 |language=es-ES |trans-title="We do not want a Spain of proletarians, but [a Spain] of home owners"}}</ref>
Homeowners are usually required to pay [[property tax]] (or millage tax) periodically. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state, a county or geographical region, or a municipality. Multiple jurisdictions may tax the same property. In most [[Canadian province]]s home purchasers must pay a one-time tax called a [[Property Transfer Tax]] (Land Transfer Tax) which is based on the cost of the home.
==International statistics== The home ownership rate is the ratio of owner-occupied units to total residential units in a specified area.<ref>{{cite web |date=9 November 2021 |title=What Is the Homeownership Rate? |url=https://www.thebalancemoney.com/the-homeownership-rate-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-calculated-4175698 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241009073525/https://www.thebalancemoney.com/the-homeownership-rate-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-calculated-4175698 |archive-date=9 October 2024 |access-date=9 October 2024 |website=www.thebalancemoney.com |publisher= }}</ref>{{better source|date=January 2025}} [[File:1981- Median age of US homebuyers.svg |thumb |The median age of US homebuyers has increased in recent decades, for both first-time buyers and repeat buyers.<ref name=NARprofiles_DataThru2025>Exhibit 1-1: Median Age of Home Buyers, 1981–2025. {{cite web |title=2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers |url=https://www.greaterbergenrealtors.com/clientuploads/Broker_Page/2025_Profile_of_Home_Buyers_and_Sellers.pdf |publisher=National Association or Realtors |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260308202106/https://www.greaterbergenrealtors.com/clientuploads/Broker_Page/2025_Profile_of_Home_Buyers_and_Sellers.pdf |archive-date=8 March 2026 |date=2026 |url-status=live}}</ref>]] [[File:Owner-Occupied Units in Urban Areas.jpg|thumb|Percentage of owner-occupied units in urban areas, by country|250x250px]]
{{srn}} {{Table alignment}} {| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers col1left" style="text-align:center" |- ! rowspan="2" scope="col" width="200" | Country ! rowspan="2" scope="col" width="100" | % Owner-Occupied Units in Urban Areas''<ref name=":0">[http://hofinet.org Housing Finance Information Network (HOFINET)]</ref>'' ! rowspan="2" scope="col" width="100" | Urban Population,<br>% of Total''<ref name=":0" />'' ! colspan="2" |Home ownership rate<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 September 2024 |title=Homeownership rate in selected European countries in 2023, by country |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/246355/home-ownership-rate-in-europe/ |access-date=9 October 2024 |website=[[Statista]]}}</ref> |- class="static-row-header" !width="50"|% !width="50"|Year |- |{{Flag|Albania}} |— |— |95.3 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Argentina}} | 67% || 92% |68.9 |2017 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Armenia}} | 96% || 64% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Australia}} | 68% || 89% |66.3 |2020 |- |{{Flag|Austria}} |— |— |54.3 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Azerbaijan}} | 71% || 52% |— |— |- |{{Flag|Belgium}} |— |— |71.9 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} |— |— |91.2 |2007 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Brazil}} | 74% || 87% |70.8 |2022<ref>{{cite web |title=Síntese de Indicadores Sociais |url=https://www.ibge.gov.br/estatisticas/sociais/habitacao/9221-sintese-de-indicadores-sociais.html |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=IBGE |language=pt}}</ref> |- |{{Flag|Brunei}} |— |— |65.0 |2019 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Bulgaria}} | 87% || 73% |86.1 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Canada}} | 68% || 81% |66.5 |2021 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Chile}} | 69% || 89% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|China}} | 89% || 45% |96.0 |2022 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Colombia}} | 50% || 75% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Costa Rica}} | 75% || 94% |— |— |- |{{Flag|Croatia}} |— |— |91.2 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Cuba}} |— |— |90.0 |2014 |- |{{Flag|Cyprus}} |— |— |68.8 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Czech Republic}} | 47% || 74% |76.0 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Denmark}} | 54% || 87% |60.0 |2023 |- |{{Flag|East Timor}} |— |— |49.9 |2007 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Egypt}} | 37% || 43% |76.0 |2019 |- |{{Flag|Estonia}} |— |— |80.7 |2023 |- |{{Flag|European Union}} |— |— |69.2 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Finland}} |— |— |69.2 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|France}} | 47% || 78% |63.1 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Germany}} | 43% || 74% |47.6 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Greece}} |— |— |69.6 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Haiti}} | 60% || 48% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Hong Kong}} | 53% || 100% |50.4 |2023<ref>{{Cite web |last=C.Textor |first= |date=25 April 2024 |title=Share of households owning the housing property they occupy in Hong Kong from 2000 to 2023 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1463140/hong-kong-share-of-home-ownership/ |access-date=9 October 2024 |website=[[Statista]]}}</ref> |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Hungary}} | 93% || 68% |90.5 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Iceland}} |— |— |75.0 |2021<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statistics Iceland: Many low-income households in central Reykjavík and in Ásbrú |url=https://statice.is/publications/news-archive/census/census-2021-households-income-and-car-availability/ |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=Statistics Iceland |language=en}}</ref> |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|India}} | 87% || 30% |86.6 |2011 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Indonesia}} | 67% || 54% |84.0 |2019 |- |{{Flag|Iran}} |— |— |60.5 |2017 |- |{{Flag|Ireland}} |— |— |69.4 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Israel}} |— |— |64.6 |2019 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Italy}} | 80% || 68% |75.9 |2024 |- |{{Flag|Japan}} |— |— |55.0 |2021 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Kazakhstan}} | 96% || — |98.0 |2024 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Kenya}} | — || 22% |75.0 |2019 |- |{{Flag|Laos}} |— |— |95.9 |2015 |- |{{Flag|Latvia}} |— |— |82.8 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Lithuania}} |— |— |88.8 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Luxembourg}} |— |— |67.6 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Malawi}} | — || 19% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Malaysia}} | — || 72% |76.9 |2019 |- |{{Flag|Malta}} |— |— |74.7 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Mexico}} | 71% || 78% |80.0 |2009 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Mongolia}} | — || 58% |— |— |- |{{Flag|Montenegro}} |— |— |91.0 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Morocco}} | 62% || 57% |— |— |- |{{Flag|Myanmar}} |— |— |85.5 |2014 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Namibia}} | 69% || 35% |— |— |- |{{Flag|Nepal}} |— |— |86.0 |2021<ref>https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/household</ref> |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Netherlands}} | 59% || 83% |70.2 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|New Zealand}} | 67% || 87% |64.5 |2018 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Nigeria}} | 10% || 50% |25.0 |2019 |- |{{Flag|North Macedonia}} |— |— |85.8 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Norway}} | 77% || 78% |79.2 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Oman}} |— |— |83.0 |2014 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Pakistan}} | — || 38% |82.0 |2023<ref>{{Cite web |title=HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS BY RESIDENTIAL STATUS, OWNERSHIP AND NUMBER OF ROOMS BY REGION, PAKISTAN |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/table_25_national.pdf}}</ref> |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Panama}} | 66% || 75% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Peru}} | — || 72% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Philippines}} | 80% || 66% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Poland}} | 78% || 61% |87.3 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Portugal}} |— |— |76.0 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Romania}} | 97% || 54% |95.6 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Russia}} | 81% || 73% |92.6 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Rwanda}} | — || 19% |— |— |- |{{Flag|Saudi Arabia}} |— |— |62.1 |2019 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Senegal}} | — || 43% |— |— |- |{{Flag|Serbia}} |— |— |91.6 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Singapore}} | 87% || 100% |87.9 |2020 |- |{{Flag|Slovakia}} |— |— |93.6 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Slovenia}} |— |— |75.2 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|South Africa}} | 62% || 62% |69.7 |2021 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|South Korea}} | 56% || 82% |57.3 |2021 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Spain}} | 85% || 77% |75.3 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Sri Lanka}} | 82% || 15% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Sweden}} | 41% || 85% |64.9 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Switzerland}} | 40% || 74% |42.3 |2023 |- |{{Flag|Taiwan}} |— |— |83.9 |2010 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Tanzania}} | — || 26% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Thailand}} | 75% || 34% |74.0 |2021<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=The 20-Year Housing Development Master Plan BE 2560-2579 (2017-2036) |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/housing/cfi-housing-affordability/submission-srhousing-cfi-housing-affordability-states-Thailand.doc |access-date=9 October 2024 |website=www.ohchr.org}}</ref> |- |{{Flag|Trinidad and Tobago}} |— |— |76.0 |2013 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Tunisia}} | 78% || 67% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Turkey}} | 81% || 70% |56.7 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Uganda}} | — || 13% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Ukraine}} | — || 68% |— |— |- |{{Flag|United Arab Emirates}} |— |— |28.0 |2017 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|United Kingdom}} | 50% || 90% |65.2 |2023 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|United States}} | 65% || 82% |65.7 |2024<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 September 2024 |title=Homeownership Rate |url=https://www.ibisworld.com/us/bed/homeownership-rate/4623/ |access-date=9 October 2024 |website=www.ibisworld.com}}</ref> |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Uruguay}} | 59% || 93% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Venezuela}} | 83% || 94% |— |— |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Vietnam}} | — || 28% |90.0 |2020 |- | scope="row" | {{Flag|Zimbabwe}} | — || 38% |— |— |}
== See also == * [[Home ownership in Australia]] * [[Homeownership in Germany]] * [[Homeownership in the United States]] * [[Imputed rent]] * [[Negative equity]] * [[Ownership]] * [[Property]]
==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * Kwak, Nancy H. ''A World of Homeowners: American Power and the Politics of Housing Aid'' ( University of Chicago Press, 2015). 328 pp.
== External links == * [https://archive.today/20140926003639/https://www.quandl.com/c/usa/home-ownership-rate-all-states Home Ownership Rate by U.S. State] – Aggregation of Federal Reserve economic data {{Real estate}}
[[Category:Ownership]] [[Category:Land tenure]] [[Category:Housing]]