Mortgage Lending in Other Countries (Part I of II)

An interesting BLOG post, I think;
http://www.stratmorgroup.com/RobChrismansBlog/tabid/83/Article/37/mortgage-lending-in-other-countries-part-i-of-ii.aspx

Many in the industry continue to oppose the increasing amount of government direction, regulation, and interference in the housing market in the United States. To one degree or another, however, the U.S. government in this country has always had an interest in housing, with varying effects. The U.S. has a relatively high rate of homeownership but it is not the highest among major developed markets. In this comparison, Australia, Ireland, Span and the U.K. all have higher rates of homeownership and Canada’s rate is comparable to that of the U.S. And interestingly, these countries provide far less government support for homeownership than the U.S. Can we learn anything from looking at home ownership, and mortgage lending, in other countries?

Most western European countries have lower rates of homeownership in part due to strong social rental systems but southern European countries like Italy, Greece and Spain have higher rates of homeownership reflecting cultural values, discriminatory policies towards private rental housing and weaker support of social rental housing. During the early 2000’s the US had an unprecedented run-up of house prices, but values in other countries actually increased more. And then Australia and the U.S. were the first of the bubble countries in which house prices fell, the U.S. more than other countries, although the Australian housing market has since recovered.

Read more here;
http://www.stratmorgroup.com/RobChrismansBlog/tabid/83/Article/37/mortgage-lending-in-other-countries-part-i-of-ii.aspx

David Donhoff, Advisor
David@LeveragePlanners.com
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