The homeownership rate in Germany is one of the lowest among advanced economies. To
better understand this fact, we evaluate the role of specific housing policies that tend to
discourage homeownership. In comparison to other countries with higher homeownership
such as the United States, Germany has an extensive social housing sector with broad
eligibility criteria, high transfer taxes when buying real estate, and no tax deductions for
mortgage interest payments by owner-occupiers. We build a life-cycle model with …

reposiTUm: Low Homeownership in Germany - A Quantitative Exploration … Low
Homeownership in Germany - A Quantitative Exploration …