Brits' obsession fuelling 'property culture'

The UK has long been a nation full of homeowners rather than renters, and that tendency is being driven by lenders doing more to offer mortgages to Britons, the Buy Association has said.

It's this willingness to lend, to borrowers with good credit and bad credit records, that has led to a 'property culture' taking shape, the independent advisor has said.

A look around the continent shows that the UK is somewhat unique in this fact, with a far greater number of Germans opting to rent instead.

But that's not the case in the UK, where it's owning the home that's the big thing for the majority of the population.

"It's incredibly easy to get a mortgage in the UK, and not necessarily as easy to get a mortgage in France or Germany," commented Buy Association property editor Paul Collins.

"Part of it is cultural. We've certainly got a property culture in terms of, not only buying property but of moving property as well. We buy property to let out or we buy it to do up and then we move again.

"There's much more of a property culture in the UK. You just have to look at how many shows there are on TV," he added.