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Is Homeownership Still Part of the American Dream?

Earlier this week we celebrated Independence Day, and with that, we also take the time to think about what made a fight for freedom a reality—the American Dream. And in that reflective moment, it’s easy to declare the American Dream dead. But ValueInsured, in a recent report, wants to “offer a different perspective.”

Homeownership has long been considered the cornerstone of the American Dream, and ValueInsured polled over 5,000 Americans in the last two years for its Modern Homebuyer Survey to assess the current state of the American Dream, and what Americans should do to keep it alive.

Millennials (70 percent) are in line with the rest of Americans (71 percent) in their desire to keep the American Dream alive. Both demographics also acknowledge—69 percent and 68 percent, respectively—that the American Dream isn’t something that is stagnant; it is every-changing, and must remain fluid in order to survive. And while 76 percent of millennials identify their own personal American Dream as being different from their parents, 65 percent still believe that homeownership defines their version of the American Dream.

Location of respondents doesn’t seem to diminish this desire, either. Eighty percent of urban dwellers say owning a home is important to their American Dream, compared to 76 percent of suburbanites and 76 percent of respondents living in a rural area.

The survey also found that “the association of homeownership with the American Dream [seems] to transcend socio-economic borders.” Seventy-six percent of Americans with a college education desire to own a home, compared to 74 percent of Americans without an education. Similarly, 84 percent of Americans with a pre-tax income over $100,000 want to own a home as do 71 percent of those with a pre-tax income under $50,000.

Even Americans that rent (71 percent) or live rent-free (61 percent) say that they would someday like to own a home of their own.

About Author: Joey Pizzolato

Joey Pizzolato is the Online Editor of DS News and MReport. He is a graduate of Spalding University, where he holds a holds an MFA in Writing as well as DePaul University, where he received a B.A. in English. His fiction and nonfiction have been published in a variety of print and online journals and magazines. To contact Pizzolato, email [email protected].
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