More Spaniards own their own homes than any other country in the Eurozone, confirm new figures from Eurostat – the EU’s statistics office. 83% of Spanish families own the property they live in, compared to a Eurozone average of 65%. This reflects a Spanish tendency to see renting as throwing away money, and mortgage relief in the tax code that rewards buying over renting. It also makes the Spanish housing market more prone to booms and busts.

After Spain come Ireland and Malta (77%), then Portugal and Greece (73%). At the other end of the scale are Germany (46%), Austria (52%), and The Netherlands (56%).

As to be expected, Spain one of the countries with smallest proportion of people paying rent at market rates, at just 8%. Families renting without housing benefits were 46% in Germany, 43% in Holland, and 42% in Denmark.

By type of housing, Spain is the Eurozone country with the highest percentage of people living in flats (66%), followed by Germany (62%) and Greece (55%), compared to a Eurozone average of 46%. Just 16% of Spanish families live in detached homes, and 19% in semis.