Acquiring a house for an affordable price

Radio 2's "Question of the Day" this morning was about finding a house at an affordable price.

As the saying goes that a Belgian (especially a Fleming) is 'born with a brick in his stomach' all of us strive to buy their own place. Be it a house, a flat, a studio or a palace. But just because of this, there is no crisis on the housing market, and the last twenty years prices have gone up - and won't go down again.

To give an example: I bought my house for 1 million old Belgian franks. That would be about 25,000 Euro today (32,500 $). In the 30 years that have gone by, the value of my house went up to at least 150,000 Euro (and that's not asking too much - prices might go up to 190,000 Euro). It's a decent asking price for a house that is nearly 100 years old.

If I would be 26 again, as old as when I bought my house, I would not be able to afford such a home on my wages. Young couples with a joint income of 3,000 Euro netto a month can't buy houses over 200,000 Euro.

The banks do give out loans, but they'll only lent you 3/4 of the sum. You have to come up with the rest of the money yourself, and not everyone has parents who will cough up for it.

So what's the solution? According to the expert asked on the program, it would be to share housing.They see a future in building homes with a joint garden/kitchen/bathroom... That would cut the costs. The question is: are the Belgians ready for this? I think not. I know I would not want to share my garden or kitchen with somebody strange.

In my opinion, there would be a better future in kangaroo housing. That is when parents or grandparents share a home with their children. They all live under one roof, but have seperate living quarters.

I've grown up in such an environment. My mother did not want to leave home when she married, and my father did not mind sharing his home with his in-laws. We kids came along and so we lived with 6 under one roof - and during holidays even with 10, as my uncle who lived in Germany came to visit with his wife and two sons. It was a great experience, and I can recommend it.

Living with several generations also solves the generation conflict, as it is easy to talk about problems and there's always someone to listen to your complaints.

What is your opinion?