Illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
Nine out of 10 Slovaks own their own property. When compared with other European countries, only Romania outperformed Slovakia, the TASR newswire reported in December 2016.
The motive for purchasing one’s own house or flat is clear as Slovaks consider having their property one of the biggest certainties, said Maroš Ďurik, executive director of the Across Private Investments company.
Moreover, the labour market also supports this mentality as Slovaks are not forced, nor used to having to commute for work. Owning real estate, therefore, is not a burden. Also the emotional factor is important, as reported by TASR.
Ďurik, however, says that owning property is not always better than renting. The average costs for a property owner and a tenant may be very similar. Moreover, a tenant does not have to commit his or her own money, but can instead invest it. Over a 25-year horizon, the costs linked to owning property may be by more than €100 a month higher, he added.
In more developed countries, renting property gives a person independence and flexibility not only from the point of greater mobility, but also the life cycle. After children grow up and leave the place to live on their own, it becomes ineffective to pay a mortgage for empty rooms, TASR reported.
This may be a result of the common thinking of post-communist countries in which people feel rich if they own a great car, a big house, an apartment near the sea or a weekend house in the mountains. But these investments do not bring anything new, and only cost more money.
As a result, Slovaks belong to the most indebted and poorest people in the European Union, according to TASR.
