We bought a house last week. We bought because our rental will be sold and we want stability for our family.

But the price for that stability is very high.

In our book, Generation Rent, Selena and I were careful to point out that we chose to rent both for lifestyle reasons and for financial reasons.

SUPPLIED "Our rental market is broken. There seems little appetite in our politics to tackle this obvious first step to solving our housing crisis: make renting better," says Shamubeel Eaqub.

Our lifestyle was different. We were a young couple with mobile job opportunities. But this changed once our son arrived a couple of years ago. I even sold my lovely but impractical car, for an urban tractor.

It also made financial sense to rent. Renting is cheaper than owning, and we could save for retirement and invest in businesses. It also gave me the confidence to quit my job when our son was born, to rely on what consulting work I could get on my own. We had no debt and had a good savings buffer.

But people's feelings on home ownership operate on a deeper, more visceral level. We are often asked why we hate home ownership, usually with a sneer or at least a hint of pity.

The fact is, we don't hate home ownership at all. We just didn't think it was the best use of our hard-earned money to spend it meeting ownership costs (such as house maintenance) that are much higher than rents, nor to deprive us of the opportunity to invest in businesses that will hopefully give us good financial returns and create jobs and prosperity for other New Zealanders.

Sadly, now that our money is tied up in one huge asset, it gives us shelter and security, but it no longer has the opportunity to be directly invested in New Zealand businesses to get them started, or to help them grow.

The fundamental reason why we paid such an eye-watering amount of money for a house is security.

Our rental market is broken. There seems little appetite in our politics to tackle this obvious first step to solving our housing crisis: make renting better.

Other countries seem to be getting it right when it comes to housing. Places like Germany have a good balance: relatively low and stable house prices, and a good deal for renters.

In fact, part of their success seems to come from not being as fixated on home ownership as we are. In places like Germany and Switzerland, most people rent – and are content to do so. People rent because the rules make it easy for them.

In Germany, rental housing is supplied by both private landlords and institutions and is just as high-quality as privately owned homes. Germany has a long history of renting dating back to its nineteenth century period of industrialisation, when housing had to be located close to people's work sites, and the period following World War Two, when government had to co-ordinate large-scale housing projects.

In Switzerland, while people might ideally prefer to own, they rent instead. House prices are too expensive relative to incomes for many people to own a home. But renting is a better option there than it is in New Zealand. As in Germany, Swiss rented housing is generally of the same standard as privately-owned housing. There are also no tax advantages to owning a home.

In New Zealand, owning a home will probably continue to be most people's first choice – but the scales should be rebalanced so that those who want to rent can enjoy German-style levels of security and stability.

If that happened, many of the advantages of home ownership outlined above, would also apply to renters. It is true that renters will never benefit from a house's ability to act as a store or generator of wealth, but would have the option to save and accumulate wealth through other means.

With greater security, renters could put down deeper roots in their communities, and with higher standards for rental housing, they could enjoy the life satisfaction of living in a warm, well-built home.

I wish we had those options in New Zealand. I would have preferred to have it all: security for my family, and to invest in New Zealand businesses to create jobs and long term prosperity.