Wow! Nearly 9 out of 10 Americans say Home Ownership is an important part of the American dream.

Wow! Nearly 9 out of 10 Americans say Home Ownership is an important part of the American dream.

Poll: 9 in 10 Americans Value Home Ownership

I read the following article this morning and am surprised at some of the statistics. I am curious about the feedback I would get from others in the industry regarding certain things:

• Government involvement: Even though ¼ of American homeowners owe more on their house than it’s worth, overall the majority of Americans polled by NY Times and CBS News said the Government should do more to improve the housing market. General consensus is blame falls squarely with financial institutions for the sluggish market.
  
• Blame: For those of us that have been in this business for a while, we are aware that lending was recently too relaxed. I used to hear lenders joke that if one had a slight pulse, or some condensation on glass, we were good to go. Many people who would not have had the opportunity, got an unrealistic taste of home ownership with these rules. And a large percentage of those people unfortunately lost their homes and now want to own again. Hopefully they have grown wiser and know what to do or where to go for guidance to get into a home. As a Realtor, I am hopeful. I love helping buyer's understand the buying and lending process. I love helping seller's understand that they can get out of this situation because in the past the banks would not work with them and perhaps allow a short sale.
  
• Credit&Qualifying: In the past it was easier to recover from a crash. If the derogatory credit happened in a specific time span it was easily explained. Now we have FICO/Beacon scoring which makes it harder for some people to recover. It also makes it harder to recover from identity theft or improper reporting due to a common name. I do hope that people have learned what is right and good and hopefully profitable for them without taking advantage of or blaming others.

I happen to agree with the 90% of Americans. Home ownership will always be valued. And we will recover from this. First time home buyers have one of the best opportunities in history. Sellers in distress can recover with the help of a qualified professional. Lending has now swung too far in the other direction. It has become to difficult for a well qualified individual to obtain a loan. We need to see a balance once again. Let's get back to common sense. I hope we have all learned, and the future will be bright.