Is Home Ownership still the American Dream?

October 7th, 2008 by roostblog in Real Estate

The credit crunch, bank failures and Wall Street meltdown has been the negative talk for the last several weeks. And before that all we tended to hear about was how bad the housing market had become. Has all this negative talk killed the American Dream of owning a home? I think not.

If you look at the increased traffic to real estate and real estate related websites like Roost.com, people are still out there trying to grab on to that symbol of Americana…owning a home. Now I’m not dealing with the issue of whether or not someone can get a loan for a home but the purely psychological aspect of home ownership.

It is still my belief that everyone has aspirations to purchase their own “palace” at some point in their life. Yea people can rent a place that serves their basic shelter needs but the pride and joy of driving into the driveway of your very own home is still one of the highs in any person’s life.

So if our past history is any indication, we will eventually bounce back from this world of negative news we are in right now and all the non-homeowners will still be trying to realize the American Dream. So prepare yourself now so you will be in excellent shape when you are ready to start the process.

First, get familiar with what is out there. From neighborhoods to pricing to school districts, use a source like Roost.com that will show you a comprehensive snapshot of the areas you are interested in. Second, look at your finances. It may be scary to come to grips with your debt and lack of savings, but the mortgage lender is going to review it eventually so why not have an idea of where you stand from a financial perspective before you apply for a loan. Third, go drive the neighborhoods that you might be interested in calling home. This will provide you with the security that you will be comfortable with the area you want to live.

If you have all this in motion now, you will be ahead of the game when things turn around and you are ready to participate in the American Dream.

Derek Overbey
Sr. Director of Partnership Strategy
Roost.com
derek.overbey@roost.com
Twitter – @doverbey

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  • I'm a homeowner and, while my home is losing equity right now, I still enjoy the peace and quiet that comes with owning a home vs. renting. Also, owning brings other benefits as well. You have the freedom to change whatever you like (within zoning and HOA rules), you can be much louder than in an apartment and you get a nice tax break. I'm just hoping I can keep my head above water so I can keep paying my mortgage. Good thing I stuck to the 28% rule and went with a fixed rate when I purchased the home back in 2007.
  • I hear you Chris. I bought my home back in 2004 and have seen my "equity" come back to earth with a thud. Now I could probably get close to what I paid because we live in a great school district and our home is in pretty good shape. But we are not moving anytime soon and I still am able to realize the tax benefits and the aspect of upgrades and changes without calling the landlord is what still makes home ownership worth it.
  • I think the pride of ownership will always be an eternal longing for all Americans. However, I think it'll take a long time for the trust and willingness to take a risk at ownership to return.

    Do you think that more people are starting to bargain hunt for homes after the recent market turmoil? Perhaps the recovery won't take as long as I assumed.
  • I think home ownership will always be the American dream. We will bounce back once consumers get confidence back and start buying again and inventories come down.
  • We rent, but we want to own. My thought is that the advantage of a paid off home if you can attain that in some way is that when you are older your income drops and if you have a paid for home you can almost always afford to stay in it.

    We used to own homes in the past but after several years of on and off unemployment just after 9-11, we had to sell and move across country. Now we want to own but not with a big mortgage. We have been looking and trying to find some way to do this with our savings.

    If you rent in old age–you will pay more to live in the home I think than you would if you own without a mortgage and only have to pay taxes.

    In that one respect we think ownership is better–that and you don’t need ‘as much’ permission to do what you like in your own place–you still need permits from government, but at least you don’t have a landlord.

    Make sense?
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