Home Ownership Matters!

     Some people say we shouldn't encourage home ownership because some people shouldn't own homes. That belief misrepresents reality. While I agree that not everyone who wants to buy is financially ready, this hardly means we should discourage ownership for all. The median net worth of home-owning families is more than $200,000 compared with about $5000 for families who rent, according to the most recent data available from the Federal Reserve. Families that work hard to get on the housing ladder and begin building equity can, in the long run, be more self-reliant than those who don't take that step. Isn't that a worthy justification for government incentives, such as the mortgage interest deduction and capital gains exemption?
   
    Home ownership has been part of the American experience since the very first breath of the Republic. When Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence, he wrote that "all men are created  equal ... with certain inalienable rights, among those these "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Those rights were broadened from the writings of John Locke, whose work Jefferson admired. Locke's belief that government had a duty to protect citizens' "life, liberty, and property" helped inspire the American Revolution. Today, what we need to do as a nation is connect with our truth and our tradition: Home ownership matters.

Taken from Realtor Magazine. February 2011