American Dream of Homeownership Becoming More Dream & Less Reality

A new report from investment banking giant Morgan Stanley states that more Americans are exiting homeownership and the U.S. is on the road to becoming a “Rentership Society.”

The report states, that political deadlock mixed with terrible housing market conditions will eventually turn America into a society of renters.

These predictions don’t even take into account of the impact of Congress and the GOP/Tea Party clowns not raising the debt limit. If the debt limit is not raised interest rates would soar, meaning credit card charges would rise sharply for any unpaid balances, mortgage rates would jump sharply, depressing housing prices even more, the U.S. dollar’s value would drop which would hike the price of gasoline and other imported goods, imported goods being most of what we use, and our savings would lose their value.

More are people being pushed out of their homes, fueled by the high rate of foreclosures, and into rental units, thus, decreasing vacancies in multi-family housing resulting in driving up rents.

Add this to the fact that not enough new affordable housing units are being built, while existing affordable housing is being lost and converted. In addition, there are not strong enough protections and rights for tenants.

This all adds up to a grim future for renters.

Sarah Duda, senior research and project associate at the Woodstock Institute, a nonprofit research firm and financial reform advocate said, “The best public policies must recognize the need for diverse, affordable housing options for both renters and owners. However, home ownership remains one of the most important sources of wealth for many households.”

She further stated, “Keeping current homeowners in their homes should be a top priority. Preserving the opportunity for people to purchase a home, particularly while affordability in the ownership market is high, is also important. Requiring meaningful loan modifications and making mortgage credit available, safe and affordable for renters who are ready and willing to buy their first home will be most helpful at this time.”

Of course, none of this can happen if the debt limit is not raised and Congressional Republicans prevail in winning drastic budget cuts.

Thus, now is that time to contact your federal representatives and demand they aggressively fight to raise the debt limit and oppose any cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.