Housing analyst David Treanor, while compiling his forthcoming book ‘Housing Policies in Europe’, studied house price growth in 11 European nations in the years since 1997. He then contrasted these figures with the cost of mortgage borrowing.

Treanor’s model reveals that while UK property has enjoyed the greatest price growth over the past 18 years, home ownership in Sweden has effectively been more profitable, as mortgage costs in the UK have been far higher. In Germany, home buyers have effectively lost money, as the cost of servicing a mortgage has generally been higher than increases in the value of homes.

Key findings are reproduced in the table below; all figures have been converted to GBP.

However, Treanor is quick to note that other factors also determine how much profit homes generate for their owners; tax is one of the biggest, especially in Britain, where home ownership is offered “generous tax treatment” compared with renting.

“No other country taxes private renting more than the UK, or offers less security to tenants,” Treanor says.

“The tax may fall on landlords, but it all has to come from the rents charged to tenants.”

Mortgage availability also plays an obvious role in profitability calculations. The UK mortgage market remains fairly competitive, making home ownership a highly profitable prospect, “much more so than in almost any other country.”

“Buying a home,” concludes Treanor, “was by far the best investment anyone could have made in recent decades.”

Housing Policies in Europe is due to be published in April.