Housing cooperatives responded to changing circumstances and increasingly converted property into rental projects. Stefan Hutter, chairman of the board of the WSG based in Linz, on the flexibility for potential buyers, favorable times and the advantage of a mix in the resident structure.
The stricter guidelines for granting home loans, the increased interest rates and the significantly higher construction costs have led to a sharp collapse of the real estate market. The housing associations have also responded by adjusting the construction programs.
“We have already stopped a number of real estate projects at the end of 2022 and rescheduled them for lease-purchase,” says Stefan Hutter, Chairman of the Board of WSG. Together with Alexandra Petermann, he heads the second-largest housing cooperative in Upper Austria, which manages more than 13,500 residential units.
Very good chance after ten years
Hire purchase is understood to mean a lease agreement with a later purchase option. “The tenant has the right to buy the property after a certain period,” Hutter explains. The chance is particularly high after ten years of rent: whoever buys the apartment does not have to pay the 20 percent sales tax on the construction work. A major advantage of moving to a home that is owned is the flexibility: the tenant can buy the property, but does not have to do so.
The WSG sets a fixed price at the start of the contractual relationship, which applies when the purchase option is exercised. It is the more transparent and usually much cheaper option for the buyer. Hutter likes the mix of owners and tenants in a property: “Owners look more at the house.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
