Americans Not Convinced Housing Crisis Is Over

The foundation’s survey also found that nearly two-thirds of those surveyed think that national housing policy should not promote home ownership over renting, but that owning and renting should receive equal emphasis. Some 60% of respondents now believe than renters “can be just as successful as owners in achieving the American Dream.”

The striking thing is that while Americans apparently have changed their perception of what the American Dream should be for the country as a whole, they have not changed their notion of what that dream means for themselves. More than 70% of renters hope to own a home someday.

One of the study’s researchers said:

While the desire to own a home remains a bedrock principle in American life, this survey demonstrates that the American public’s views about housing are changing, in part due to the hangover from the housing crisis, but importantly, also because of changes in our lifestyles. … Many of the positive attributes that have long been associated with homeownership are fading, and on the flip side of the coin, it is remarkable that nearly half of all homeowners can picture themselves one day becoming a renter.

It could be that many Americans are as wary of the current recovery of the U.S. housing market as is economist Robert Shiller, who last week said that the United States right now is “living in a totally artificial real estate economy.” Shiller is the co-creator of the S&P Case-Shiller house price index.

Shiller’s skepticism is based on the Fed’s $40 billion monthly purchases of mortgage-backed securities and what he called “exuberance” in the Phoenix and Las Vegas housing markets. Shiller also said he thinks that it could take as long as 40 years for house prices to reach pre-2007 levels again.

The MacArthur Foundation survey indicates that many Americans share Shiller’s skepticism, even if for less technical reasons.

The MacArthur-sponsored study is available here.