Home ownership is a blessing that too many people take for granted considering the long and troubled history related to property ownership since the earliest of times. Today the vast majority of homes are owned by the people who live in them, and even people with little income can own a home if they plan properly. But this wasn’t the case for our ancestors – even recent ones. Read on to take a look at home ownership through the ages, and you’ll likely end up with a better appreciation for the way things are today – economic crunch and all…
Ancient Egypt
In the time of the great pharaohs, most people believed that the land itself was the possession of the Gods. However, it was the country’s governing powers that almost exclusively managed and controlled the land, doling out parcels to its citizens in exchange for various services. While these services were mainly agricultural and involved working on the land they lived on, there was no exchange of currency involved and the subject and their families were never permitted any real interest in the land or the dwellings they built there.
Rome
By the time the Romans were dominating the earth, home and property ownership were the literal basis of what society was founded upon. During this time citizens were arranged into classes, with each class being afforded a different set of rights and privileges than the next. These were based almost entirely on wealth and real estate. In fact, the wealthiest men – those that owned the most land – were so well-off that their empires were run almost exclusively by “lesser” men. Home ownership by the citizen class was possible, especially in towns and cities outside of Rome. However, unless freed, slaves could never own property because they themselves were considered property incapable of ownership or any rights at all.
Medieval Europe
Home ownership in medieval Europe wasn’t ownership at all. In most areas people lived according to the serfdom system, whereby one wealthy person – called a “lord” – owned all the lands in the area. However, the lords let the local peoples erect buildings and work pieces of land in return for services performed for the lord. The trouble was that the citizens had no rights to their land or homes and could be forced out of them at any time- including by all-too-often wars between lords and other serfdoms.
Early America
Real estate in early America was bought and sold primarily among the wealthy. On the frontiers most people built simple wooden structures from local timber, and they may have owned their property based on government awards to citizens that ventured out west. But in rural areas it was usually only the wealthy that could afford to build homes, and when they did so they built very large houses. This was to provide housing for the large American family of the time, as well as to accommodate slaves, hired help and extended family members. However, despite their size, most of these homes lacked amenities.
It wasn’t until the 1940’s that homes with better amenities (but smaller plots of land) and more affordable pricing became readily available to the average American. Since then we’ve seen significant change in the real estate industry, offering consumers more options and protections than ever before. In fact, in today’s home buying markets, even people with credit problems can get a mortgage. To find out for yourself, fill out our fast online application form now, or call the number at the top of your screen to get an immediate, no obligation quote from our Pittsburgh based mortgage firm.
