Despite the prolonged housing dip, the American pubic still is high on housing. Eight in 10 (81 percent) of adults agree that buying a home is the best long-term investment a person can make, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.
The survey shows respondents are not oblivious to what’s happened to housing during the past half-decade, however.
Of the 1,222 homeowners surveyed (out of 2,142 total adults), nearly half (47 percent) say their home is worth less now than before the recession began, and 31 percent say its value has remained the same. Just 17 percent of respondents say their home is worth more now than when the recession began.
Among the respondents who concede that their homes have lost value, 86 percent expect it will take at least three years for values to return to pre-recession levels; 42 percent expect it will take at least six years; and 10 percent say it will take more than 10 years. Beyond that, 82 percent of owners who say their home lost value still strongly (37 percent) or somewhat (45 percent) agree that homeownership remains the best long-term investment. About half (49 percent) of owners whose homes gained value during the recession strongly agree with the sentiment.
Homeowners as a whole are more positive than renters about the financial wisdom of owning. Forty-one percent of homeowners strongly agree that a home is the best long-term investment a person can make, compared with 31 percent of renters. Just 24 percent of renters say they rent out of choice; 81 percent say they one day would like to buy.
It’s not all rosy, however. Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of owners polled say that they would not buy their home if they had to do it all over again. Complaints among the six-in-10 who expressed buyer’s remorse: the home itself (43 percent), financial factors (31 percent) and the home’s location (17 percent).
