Quote Originally Posted by CC1
@ Maciamo...I looked at the site about home ownership, but I didn't see a good explanation as to what they considered a home...a house? A condo? A flat? I think Mal's point was that many people in the US own a house...and the land it sits on, while many people in Japan, England, etc...own their home, but it may be in the form of a condo or along those lines.
In Japan, yes, but there are very few flats in England. English people usually dislike flats. As for the US, I don't think there are so many houses in places like Manhattan, so many people, even rich, will have to fo with a flat. But I agree in principle that land is cheaper in the States (or Canada or Australia) as there is more space. However in some isolated regions of Japan (Shimane, Akita...) land is very cheap too, and one prefecture even gives land for free to anyone who came from another prefecture and stays for at least 10 years (because of the exodus to the big cities).

Am I way off base here? Maybe you could educate me on something: If I own a house and it is leveled by an earthquake, I still own the land. What of people owning a condo or flat? If the building is leveled do they own anything anymore? Technically their property is gone right? (I am generally asking so that I can learn)
Not sure. Either you get nothing or the share you apartment represented in the whole building. Anyway there are no earthquake in most of Europe (almost only in Greece and Southern Italy).