The American Dream

Why you might never own a home
Houses used to be an essential part of the American dream. But for many middle-class families, a home of one's own now seems out of reach

By Lauren Barack, MSN Money
Cathy Mano, 44, works at a nonprofit in San Francisco. Her husband is an acupuncturist. The two pull in a little less than $100,000 a year together. Mano knows she's nowhere near the poverty level, but she's not sure home ownership is in the cards.
"We can't afford to buy a home," she says. "Housing costs are so high that we haven't really thought about it -- although I do more often now that I have a daughter."
They don't have a yard, which means her daughter can't have a dog, Mano says. "So she has a guinea pig."

Continue Article: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/HomeMortgageSavings/WhyYouWillNeverOwnAHome.aspx


This is a very interesting article that touches on why the real estate industry has collapsed. It is every American’s dream to own a home with a yard where there kids can play. It makes more financial sense as well. We are taught from a very young age that our home is our nest egg and over time the equity that is built up will one day help us through retirement. This is simply not the case anymore. Steadily we have arbritraley increased our home values for far too long and we are finally seeing the market correct itself. How a home in 2002 worth $200,000 was sold for $420,000 in 2006 is beyond me. I could talk all day about inflated home values, but what I really want to touch on is the people who are suffering the most. Home prices have gotten so out of control that middle class families, who are in search of the “American Dream”, are forced to stretch themselves to thin financially in order to provide a safe environment for their children. These people where not buying million dollars home and living above their means, like you hear some many people talking about today. Homeownership shifted away from the lower middle class to exclusively the upper middle class and they were trying to keep up. The creative loan packages that are no longer available, such as “no money down” and interest only’ were a way for the lower middle class to achieve their American Dream. I think sometimes we, myself included, need to have a little more sympathy for those people who are currently in foreclosure. I know sometimes I say that it’s their own fault for buying a house they could not afford, but they were just doing what they were taught as kids. Buy a house, don’t rent, you will be throwing your money away. I do not have an answer or a timeline for when and how the real estate industry will turn around, but the one thing I do know is that we need the lower middle class to do it.


It’s a new day, new deal, new opportunity

Mike Sebeniecher, Texo Properties ( TexoNC.com)