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Financial News
Americans Still Believe Deeply in Homeownership as an Integral Part of the American Dream
Updated: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 3:11 PM
Americans still have a deep attachment to homeownership,
according to new poll results announced by The Allstate Corporation
and National Journal. Furthermore, they consider homeownership an
integral part of an American Dream in which they still
believe.
The eighth quarterly Allstate-National Journal Heartland Monitor
Poll revealed that nearly nine out of 10 homeowners say they would
buy their homes again. That percentage held true even among
homeowners who said their home values had declined. Seven of 10
Americans say they would advise a friend or family member to buy a
home as a long-term asset. However, while homeownership is
perceived as a good personal decision, there is much greater
uncertainty about whether expanding homeownership should be a
government priority.
Although only 35% of respondents expect their personal financial
situations to improve over the next year, three-fourths of those
surveyed said it is still possible for people like them to achieve
the American Dream, which the poll defined as the ability to
advance as far as their talents will take them and live better than
their parents did. A total of 59% said they currently are living
the American Dream. Respondents identified owning your own home as
one of the most critical parts of the American Dream, second only
to raising a family.
"Owning a home continues to be the bedrock of the American Dream
even as incomes are down, jobs are scarce and families struggle to
make ends meet," said Thomas J. Wilson, Allstate chairman,
president and chief executive officer. "Homeownership is viewed
positively by the vast majority of Americans as both a place to
raise a family and a sound investment. As a result, financial
institutions and the government must work together to ensure that
those who can afford their homes stay in them and this opportunity
remains a viable alternative for all Americans."
Despite their positive statements about owning a home, only 42% of
those polled said that government's push to expand homeownership
created more stable communities, while 51% said these policies made
communities less stable because it "encouraged people to take on
too much debt" and led to foreclosures. Those surveyed split
exactly in half-46% on each side-on the broad question of whether
Washington should continue or scale back its efforts to promote
homeownership through policies such as tax incentives for
first-time buyers and the mortgage interest deduction.
"Homeownership retains a powerful, almost tidal, grip on the
American imagination," said Ronald Brownstein, editorial director
of National Journal Group. "Even the economic experiences of the
last several years don't seem to have dimmed the yearning for
ownership. But we do see that the public is much more ambivalent
about whether the nation's focus on expanding homeownership is a
good thing for the country overall, with even the traditionally
sacred cow of the mortgage tax deduction raising questions."
A surprising 43% of survey respondents explicitly favored
eliminating or limiting the tax break for mortgage interest.
However, one reason may be that few Americans understand how they
benefit from Washington's role in homeownership. Three-fourths of
homeowners said they have not benefited from any federal program to
promote ownership, even though 71% of those owners acknowledged
they take the mortgage interest deduction.
