Industry News – Despite an unsteady economy and the recent housing downturn, many Americans still value homeownership and consider it to be more than a simple financial investment, according to a recent Fannie Mae National Housing Survey. Other findings…

8 out of 10 Americans believe that homeownership is important to the economy.  64% think it is a good time to buy a house, compared with 66% who said it was a good time to buy in 2003, before home prices peaked.  37% of Americans think housing prices will rise and 36 percent think prices will stay the same over the next 12 months.  60% believe buying a home today is harder than it was for their parents, and 68% think it will be even harder for their children.  7 out of 10 homeowners say they believe buying a home continues to be one of the safest investments available, while 74 % believe putting money into a savings or money market account is safe.  65 % say they prefer owning over renting, citing non-financial reasons such as neighborhood safety (43%) and quality of local schools (33%).  93 % of homeowners with fixed-rate loans and predictable payments say they are more satisfied than those with other types of mortgages.

From: The Residential Specialist   July/August 2010 issue