Editing Owner-occupancy

{{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]].

== 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 home owner 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 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 ==
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. In some jurisdictions, it also confers certain legal rights with regard to [[abutter|abutters]].

Houses and the land they sit on are 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 move at a future date. Some home owners see their purchase as an 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).

Due to the fact that homeowners have a financial stake in their homes, being a homeowner is an economically efficient course of action.
In order to improve their physical and mental well-being as well as their level of life satisfaction, they have a motivation to preserve or raise the value of their properties. Conversely, renters are incentivized to view local issues through a narrow lens, could be unmotivated to participate in civic life, and could see themselves as having little social utility.<ref> (2015) Generation X and Y’s demand for homeownership in Hong Kong, Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 21:1, 15-36, DOI:10.1080/14445921.2015.1026195</ref> Compared to [[Renting|renters]] and absentee landlords, owner-occupiers are sometimes seen as more responsible toward property maintenance and community concerns, since they are more directly affected.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100961300 The Advantages of Renting]</ref>

Traditionally, home ownership has been encouraged by governments in Western countries (especially [[English-speaking countries]]) because it was thought to help people acquire wealth, to encourage savings, and promote [[civic engagement]]. However, the housing market crash of 2008 in most of the English-speaking world has caused academic and policy-makers to question this logic.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.economist.com/node/13491933 | 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>

==International statistics==
[[File:Owner-Occupied Units in Urban Areas.jpg|thumb|500px|Percentage of owner-occupied units in urban areas, by country]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" width="150"| Country 
! scope="col" width="100"| % Owner-Occupied Units in Urban Areas 
! scope="col" width="100"| Urban Population, % of Total
|-
! scope="row" | Argentina 
| 67% || 92%
|-
! scope="row" | Armenia 
| 96% || 64%
|-
! scope="row" | Australia 
| 68% || 89%
|-
! scope="row" | Azerbaijan 
| 71% || 52%
|-
! scope="row" | Brazil 
| 74% || 87%
|-
! scope="row" | Bulgaria 
| 87% || 73%
|-
! scope="row" | Canada 
| 68% || 81%
|-
! scope="row" | Chile 
| 69% || 89%
|-
! scope="row" | China 
| 89% || 45%
|-
! scope="row" | Colombia 
| 50% || 75%
|-
! scope="row" | Costa Rica 
| 75% || 94%
|-
! scope="row" | Czech Republic 
| 47% || 74%
|-
! scope="row" | Denmark
| 54% || 87%
|-
! scope="row" | Egypt
| 37% || 43%
|-
! scope="row" | France
| 47% || 78%
|-
! scope="row" | Germany
| 43% || 74%
|-
! scope="row" | Haiti
| 60% || 48%
|-
! scope="row" | Hong Kong
| 53% || 100%
|-
! scope="row" | Hungary
| 93% || 68%
|-
! scope="row" | India
| 87% || 30%
|-
! scope="row" | Indonesia
| 67% || 54%
|-
! scope="row" | Italy
| 80% || 68%
|-
! scope="row" | Kazakhstan
| 96% || -
|-
! scope="row" | Kenya
| - || 22%
|-
! scope="row" | Republic of Korea
| 56% || 82%
|-
! scope="row" | Malawi
| - || 19%
|-
! scope="row" | Malaysia
| - || 72%
|-
! scope="row" | Mexico
| 71% || 78%
|-
! scope="row" | Mongolia
| - || 58%
|-
! scope="row" | Morocco
| 62% || 57%
|-
! scope="row" | Namibia
| 69% || 35%
|-
! scope="row" | Netherlands
| 59% || 83%
|-
! scope="row" | New Zealand
| 67% || 87%
|-
! scope="row" | Nigeria
| 10% || 50%
|-
! scope="row" | Norway
| 77% || 78%
|-
! scope="row" | Pakistan
| - || 38%
|-
! scope="row" | Panama
| 66% || 75%
|-
! scope="row" | Peru
| - || 72%
|-
! scope="row" | Philippines
| 80% || 66%
|-
! scope="row" | Poland
| 78% || 61%
|-
! scope="row" | Romania
| 97%  || 54%
|-
! scope="row" | Russia
| 81% || 73%
|-
! scope="row" | Rwanda
| - || 19%
|-
! scope="row" | Senegal
| - || 43%
|-
! scope="row" | Singapore
| 87% || 100%
|-
! scope="row" | South Africa
| 62% || 62%
|-
! scope="row" | Spain
| 85% || 77%
|-
! scope="row" | Sri Lanka
| 82% || 15%
|-
! scope="row" | Sweden
| 41% || 85%
|-
! scope="row" | Switzerland
| 40% || 74%
|-
! scope="row" | Tanzania
| - || 26%
|-
! scope="row" | Thailand
| 75% || 34%
|-
! scope="row" | Tunisia
| 78% || 67%
|-
! scope="row" | Turkey
| 81% || 70%
|-
! scope="row" | Uganda
| - || 13%
|-
! scope="row" | Ukraine
| - || 68%
|-
! scope="row" | United Kingdom
| 50% || 90%
|-
! scope="row" | United States
| 65% || 82%
|-
! scope="row" | Uruguay
| 59% || 93%
|-
! scope="row" | Venezuela
| 83% || 94%
|-
! scope="row" | Vietnam
| - || 28%
|-
! scope="row" | Zimbabwe
| - || 38%
|}
''Source: Housing Finance Information Network (HOFINET)<ref>[http://hofinet.org Housing Finance Information Network (HOFINET)]</ref>

==Costs of home ownership==

===Property tax===
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.

===Property Transfer Tax===
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.

== See also ==
* [[Home ownership in Australia]]
* [[Homeownership in the United States]]
* [[Imputed rent]]
* [[Negative equity]]
* [[Ownership]]
* [[Property]]
* [[List of countries by home ownership rate]]

==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]]