In general it is the Americans and Brits who appear to have a passion for owning their own home.  "An Englishman’s home is his castle" as the old saying goes, or in other words; "It’s my house I’ll do what I want in it!" and there’s pros and cons to enjoying that privilege.

I have not partaken in the home ownership arena for many years, in fact since the UK housing crash of the early 1990’s, and whilst I do have that in built gene or DNA string that constantly alerts me to the fact that I am not following a well founded tradition that goes back more generations than I can count, I am ok with it.

I do miss the freedom that comes with home ownership and I can never be reconciled to the fact I am consciously paying somebody else's mortgage, it just doesn’t seem natural.

The bad news for those in a similar position to me so many years ago is that it is a long haul back to square one, and I for one, whilst believing myself to have been reasonably clever about that unenviable situation having eventually turning a major loss into a nominal profit, do not envy those who are going through the same cycle now.

In history, "post war" Britain saw the lowest home ownership figures in recent times with only 10% of the population owning their own homes. In the 1970’s home ownership in the UK was at 49% yet in America was already much higher standing at 64% a quite substantial difference and one that with my minimal historical knowledge came as quite a surprise to me. My perceptions were that these figures would have been the other way around.

Over the years the UK government actively sold off state housing which may well have been the key influencer within the rising statistics and Margaret Thatcher actively promoted UK private housing and home ownership. The figures during this century grown substantially, until they finally peaked close to the current level of 67%.

The majority of the US population have enjoyed the benefits of home ownership since the 1960’s and possibly long before that; in 1965 63% of the population were home owners, a figure which gradually grew to a peak in 2005 of 69% and has marginally fallen year on year since to its current figure of 67.3%. As the mid west region opened up the US region’s home ownership figures grew steadily from 68% in 1965 to a high of 74% in 2005.

The benefits of home ownership are varied and whilst in the first half of the century the majority of households were largely free of debt, the widespread introduction of home loans opened up the market to average individuals who have been largely dependant upon continued employment to fund their mortgages and home loans.

Changes to employment law and the disappearance of that "job for life" relationship with employers has not only made the housing market a more fickle sector to be involved in, but also a much riskier place to invest what in most cases is one’s life time savings. It could be argued that the modern day voter is compelled to vote for the political party that promotes full employment and help to home owners in order that their own interest will be served prior to other necessary national requirements.

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Of course, historically home ownership has had the primary advantage of keeping one's money literally "as safe as houses", but when the bubble bursts it often does it in a quite dramatic fashion that can affect generations, and until market’s adjust back to realistic levels almost no member of society can remain free of the fallout that such crashes leave behind.

A key disadvantage of home ownership in today's globally mobile society is the restrictive nature of owning one’s own home i.e. it is generally undesirable to own a home in one state whilst being forced to find work in another. It can lead to family’s living separately or relying on rental income so they can themselves rent in other areas where they can find work.

Effectively, whilst you own a part of your country, home ownership means being bound by the laws and taxes imposed upon those who enjoy the privilege and unless they are able to find likeminded individuals to purchase your property from them then they are effectively bound by these laws indefinitely.

Personally, I remain content with my current situation and the flexibility it brings. I resent the fact that having saved your entire life to purchase and have full ownership of your own property, to cap it all, your beneficiaries will be bound by the additional taxes they are forced to pay prior to taking possession of your own possessions after you have passed away, which may well be what lead to the time old saying; "There are only two definite things in life, death and taxes".