Us homebuyers disillusioned by property investment

Homeownership as an investment is no longer the rock-solid foundation for the American Dream it once was, according to a survey released on Monday by the firm the government created in the 1930s to promote homeownership.

Fewer than two in three Americans now think owning their own home is a safe investment, down sharply from more than four out of five who thought it was a good investment less than a decade ago. That attitude shift is likely to cause rents to rise as more Americans opt for renting over buying, according to the latest quarterly survey of attitudes toward homeownership from Fannie Mae , the largest provider of U.S. home mortgage funds.

The National Housing Quarterly Survey found just 64 percent of Americans think owning their own home is a safe investment, down from 70 percent at the beginning of last year and sharply lower than the 83 percent who thought it was a safe investment in 2003.

Last week, data released by the National Association of Realtors showed that home sales rose for third straight month in January, while the median home price fell to its lowest since April 2002.

Source: Reuters