In the late 1950s and early '60s, the standard of living in West Germany improved markedly thanks to the so-called economic miracle and post-WWII welfare state measures. One of the most important was the housing policy which not only alleviated the quantitative shortage of housing through the '50s but also improved the standard of living by enhancing the facilities in the houses.
During this period, many German financial institutions offered various types of mortgage products for home buyers to support the fast-growing housing demands. One
