Motivations to become a member of a housing cooperative: Comparison of the national characteristics of Sweden, Germany and the USA

Cooperative housing systems vary depending on different aspects for example in which urban context they are formed, which country specific legislation they observe and which purpose they suit. In general, a housing cooperative is a coalition of people, who wants to be shareholders of real estate projects. On one hand, being member of such a legal corporation is a kind of home ownership. The cooperative corporation owns the land and the buildings. On the other hand, members pay a monthly amount to cover the running expenses of all real estates of the cooperative. Summarizing, they live in the cooperative and they run the cooperative. Today, members of housing cooperatives have different motivations to become part of a cooperation. The affordability of the dwelling is just one of the advantages. Urban structures and residential markets change constantly. Furthermore, the expectations of the population regarding their housing conditions change. These are some of the reasons why the motivations to become member of a housing cooperative vary widely. Within this paper different cooperative housing systems in Sweden, Germany and the USA are analyzed and compared. Thereby, the focus is on the motivations of the members. The aim of this research is to illustrate the different motives of people to become part of a housing cooperative in the selected countries. Sweden,