A recent poll commissioned by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows that homeownership is still at the core of the American Dream.
According to the Times NWI, even as housing markets continue to recover at different rates around the country, the American Dream of homeownership remains strong – four out of five Americans believe that owning a home is a good investment.
And, they believe that it’s something policymakers need to take active steps to encourage and protect.
When surveyed about investments, 82 percent of respondents rate “a home for you to live in” as a good or excellent investment, which was the highest of six choices, retirement accounts coming in second at 67 percent.
And, as the Daily Business News has reported, contrary to some concerns about Millennials rejecting the idea of homeownership, 81 percent of 18-29-year-olds want to buy a home.
Perhaps most striking is that 55 percent of those surveyed said the biggest obstacle to buying a home was finding a home at an affordable price.
Additionally, 50 percent of those surveyed citied insufficient savings for a down payment as an obstacle and 41 percent reported difficulty getting approved for a home loan as a challenge.
Finally, 72 percent of survey respondents support the government providing tax incentives to encourage homeownership.
Benefits, particularly the mortgage interest deduction, which has been included in the tax code for more than 100 years, have been critical to developing the American Dream of homeownership.
MH, a Solution Hiding in Plain Sight
MHProNews and MHLivingNews continue to cover the challenges as well as the numerous advantages that the manufactured housing industry provides in the U.S., making affordable, quality housing easily available to most of the population.
MHProNews and MHLivingNews publisher L.A. “Tony” Kovach provides deep insight into this opportunity in Obstacles and Opportunities in Affordable Housing – October 2016, and the understanding that the solution to affordable housing is hiding in plain sight.
With new attitudes about housing, millennials are also looking for viable economic solutions that also provide the opportunity for sustainability.
Leaders in business also clearly understand the opportunity, such as Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway, which owns Clayton Homes, and Sam Zell, Chairman of Equity LifeStyle Properties, or independents such as John Bostick, with Sunshine Homes.
Giants and independents alike are “doubling down” on the manufactured housing industry, with Zell being quoted as saying during this interview “Everyone calls them trailer parks. Pencil head, it’s not a trailer park.“
Sunshine Home’s John Bostick knows the challenges facing manufactured housing, as well as the immense opportunities when he reminds professionals that “Easy doesn’t pay well.” What Bostick means is that it is only through effort that manufactured housing will advance to its potential. ##
(Image credits are as shown above.)
Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.
