The Ideology of Home Ownership : Homeowner Societies and the Role of Housing

Demand for owner-occupied housing has expanded dramatically across modern-industrialized societies in recent years leading to volatile increases in residential property values. This book explores the rise of modern home-ownership as a cultural, socio-political and ideological phenomenon. There has been a phenomenal growth in owner-occupied housing and rapid increases in house prices across societies in recent decades. Many countries have been overwhelmed by the demand for home ownership, by the aggregate wealth built up in housing property, as well as by the debt bound up in mortgage markets. This book considers how and why home ownership became so significant in various international contexts. A central concept is 'home ownership ideology', which implies that housing practices are not benign but support particular alignments of social-power relations. A complementary concept is that of 'homeowner society', which suggests that social relations in some societies are specifically orientated towards owner-occupied housing systems, which play a role in development pathways. While there has been a growing demand for owner-occupied housing and a substantial augmentation in property values, there has not been a parallel awareness of the wider social impact. The objective in this book is to develop understanding of the role of housing systems, ideologies and practices in emerging social structures

Demand for owner-occupied housing expanded dramatically across modern, industrialized societies in recent years leading to volatile increases in residential property values. Entry into the owner-occupied sector has become increasingly critical to households, while the viability of rental-tenure has been undermined. This book explores the rise of modern home-ownership as a cultural, socio-political and ideological phenomenon. It focuses on housing consumption across a range of societies dominated by a political and cultural commitment to home-ownership, which has been largely manipulated and ideologically charged.

Front Matter....Pages i-xii Housing and the Rise of Home Ownership....Pages 1-15 Unravelling Home Ownership Ideology....Pages 16-47 Homeowner Ideologies....Pages 48-82 Housing, Globalization and Welfare States....Pages 83-117 Anglo-Saxon Homeowner Societies....Pages 118-162 East Asian Homeowner Societies....Pages 163-205 Comparing Homeowner Societies....Pages 206-238 The Future of Home Ownership and the Consequences of Tenure....Pages 239-254 Back Matter....Pages 255-282 "This book considers how and why home ownership became so significant in various international contexts. A central concept is 'home ownership ideology', which implies that housing practices are not benign but support particular alignments of social-power relations."--Jacket