Chart of the Week
Every Friday, MBA's Chart of the Week provides commentary and analysis on a topic of interest for the industry. This comes from variety of data sources, including proprietary data from MBA's own surveys and studies, as well as from government agencies and other reliable sources of mortgage, housing, and economic data.
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Current Chart of the Week
Source: 2026 World Population Review, Home Ownership by Country 2026.
In a forthcoming MBA White Paper, “Implications of a Persistent Slowing in Housing Demand,” MBA’s Research and Economics team examines, among other topics, homeownership rates in the United States by age and by race and ethnicity. The overall homeownership rate stood at 65.3 percent in the first quarter of 2026, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
With the World Cup underway and pundits ranking national football (soccer) teams, it is useful to adopt a similar comparative lens to examine homeownership rates across countries—assessing how the United States compares and identifying some of the factors underlying cross-country variation.
This week’s MBA Chart of the Week presents homeownership rates for the United States and 25 selected countries, including several participating in the World Cup. Kazakhstan ranks highest at 98 percent, reflecting a post-Soviet legacy of housing privatization, a relatively underdeveloped rental sector, and a strong cultural preference for owner-occupancy. China follows at 96 percent, supported by policies and financial incentives favoring ownership, as well as decades of housing reform and rapid urbanization. More generally, many countries with high homeownership rates often share several common features, including strong traditions of family inheritance, long-term residence, and the prevalence of self-built housing.
In contrast, Germany and Switzerland report substantially lower homeownership rates (48 percent and 42 percent, respectively), where rental housing predominates across income groups, including among middle-class households. These outcomes reflect institutional and policy features such as strong tenant protections and comparatively limited fiscal incentives for mortgage borrowing. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates has a relatively low rate (28 percent), largely reflecting the large share of expatriate residents who typically rent. Nigeria records the lowest rate among the countries shown, at 25 percent, due to structural constraints including high mortgage costs, limited housing finance opportunities, and elevated land and construction costs—particularly in major urban centers. However, its relatively young demographic profile suggests potential for future growth, contingent on institutional reforms.
Overall, cross-country differences in homeownership rates reflect a complex interaction of affordability, access to credit, legal and regulatory frameworks, public policy, cultural norms, and demographic characteristics. Interpreting these differences requires moving beyond headline rates to consider their underlying structural determinants.
- Edward Seiler ([email protected])