The growth of mass home ownership in Taiwan

Abstract

With the increasing growth of home ownership inEuropean countries, the issue ofrecommodification of housing is being widelydiscussed. The significant amount ofinternational research focused on housing hasdrawn attention to the changing structure ofthe housing stock and the consequences of suchchange. Research is gradually shifting from apolicy-centred perspective focusing on socialhousing to a wider view of how the housingmarket operates. In line with this trend inhousing research, this paper seeks to explainthe development of housing systems in Taiwanand to show how the high percentage of homeownership is related to the different routes bywhich new homeowners gain access to the sector.With the growing influence of market-basedhousing provision, home ownership depends moreon the deepening involvement of the financialsystem, especially at the lower end of themarket. Along with the changes in the widersocial context – such as the downturn of thehousing market, the wider economic recession,the rising rate of unemployment – the housingsystem that is dominated by mortgaged homeownership is in crisis.