
The homeownership rate is plunging because the housing bust tarnished the American Dream dream, and a new generation chooses to rent instead. For nearly 100 years, US government housing policy maximized the homeownership rate and the rate of growth in house prices. Politicians characterized homeownership as the best investment a middle-class family could make, and home ownership equated with the American Dream. During the early 00s, on the surface conditions looked great. House prices appreciated rapidly, mortgage equity withdrawal fueled an economic boom, subprime lending provided home ownership opportunities to everyone, and a record number of Americans realized the American Dream. Government officials touted the success of their policies, and critics of these policies were mocked or widely ignored as…[READ MORE]