For many, the American Dream includes the idea of homeownership. A great article in the New York Times got me thinking… Is the American Dream of homeownership dead? What happened to the idea that you buy a home as a lifelong investment, sit pretty, pay your mortgage, and just watch the value of your home increase. Those who believed that home prices never fall have been smacked in the face. We as a nation now deal with the reality that since their national peak in 2006, home prices have fallen by 29%. Those in Las Vegas and Phoenix are down so significantly homeowners are literally stuck in a dark hole hopeful there is an end in sight.We depended on the housing market to drive the economy, and at the same time depend on the performance of the economy to drive the housing market. So what now?
Call me naive, but I think everybody needs to put a little faith in the market. Buyers need to regain confidence in homes as an investment and real estate professionals need to help them feel confident as bruised and as battered as they may be now.
Do you think the dream of homeownership is still alive? How has it changed?
