homeownership

In the period beginning with the close of World War II and right up to 2005, buying a house opened up a pathway to upward mobility even for those without college degrees. But the great American housing bust has dramatically changed that dynamic. Can it ever come back?

April 15 isn't the only tax deadline to be mindful of this month: The first-time homebuyer's credit is winding down this month, too. Taxpayers hoping to qualify for the credit must finalize their contracts by a month from today, on April 30, 2010. If you sign a contract by that date, you have until...

In my Detroit-area neighborhood, there are almost no homes for sale. Out of more than 1,000 homes in a two-mile area there are probably only a half-dozen on the market. Yes, you read that right. Downtrodden Detroit, Michigan, where real estate set new records for declines has neighborhoods where...

The national home ownership rate fell to 66.6% in 2008, its lowest rate in six years. The home ownership rate peaked at 67.3% in 2006. That data comes from the American Community Survey, which was released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Here's what's so interesting about this data to me: Home...

According to the United States Census Bureau, the rate of home ownership in the United States was 67.3% in the first quarter of 2009 -- its lowest rate since the second quarter of 2000. Here, courtesy of Consumer Reports, are the numbers by age group: Under 35 years: 39.8% 35 to 44 years:...

A native of Southern California, homeownership for me has always come with a caveat of "some day..." As in, some day, when Oprah plugs one of my books. Or some day, when I learn I'm really heir to the Pilsner beer fortune, or, some day, when I buy that winning lottery ticket, marry a surgeon, sell...

In the heady days of the housing bubble, it was often smarter to rent a home than it was to buy. That was because home values were so inflated that the monthly expenses of ownership were much, much higher than rental expenses. The only way for homeownership to make sense financially in some...

Don't you hate the first time you make a certain kind of purchase? We've all been in the situation when even the tidbits of advice you have heard over the years don't fully prepare you for the transaction.The first time I felt this way about a deal was when I bought my first car. I made some goofy...

Anytime that something is nationally recognized as "The American Dream", there's a good chance that it's overrated.In the midst of record foreclosures, and plummeting home values leaving people upside down on their mortgages (i.e. they owe more than the home is currently worth), the American Dream...

Whether 'tis nobler in the minds of your parents and friends to rent; than to suffer the slings and arrows of home ownership, I have a few calculators that will help you make the decision based on your unique situation. Owning a home is an idea which is drilled into us from the moment we become...