Distribution of population by tenure status, 2015 (% of population)

Factor affecting the attractiveness of property market in terms of investment, especially of housing, is the ratio of the number of dwellings owned by the population .In 2015, more than a quarter (26.9%) of the EU population lived in their own housing with credit or mortgages, while over 42% occupied their own residential units without credit or mortgages. According to data, almost 70% of individuals in the EU lived in their own dwellings, while 19.7% of the population rented apartments at market prices, and 10.9% used rent-reduced or free-of-charge accommodation.
More than half of the population in each of the Member States lives in their own dwellings i.e. from 51.8% in Germany to 96.5% in Romania. In none of EU countries, the percentage of tenants did not exceed the percentage of people occupying their own dwellings. However for instance in Switzerland, in 2014 more people rented apartments (about 55.5% of the population) than lived in the own possessed ones.