The majority of Americans still believe in real estate as a good investment

The majority of Americans still think real estate is the best long term financial investment to make. The value of the average house has dropped by nearly a 3rd since the housing recession began in late 2007, and nearly a third of all homes are worth less than the amount that is owed on them. Housing prices will recover eventually. It may take awhile, though.
More than 80 percent of Americans have confidence in real estate
A recent survey revealed that, regardless of the economic downturn, the majority of Americans nevertheless have confidence in housing as an investment. The Pew Research Center, according to Reuters, found that 81 percent of Americans felt real estate was still the best long term investment. More than 2,000 adults were surveyed by phone by the Social and Demographic Trends project, part of the Pew Research Center, and 37 percent “strongly agreed” that a house is the best long term financial investment, and 44 percent “somewhat agreed.” Most people believe that housing values will recovered within three years, however 23 percent said that they would not have bought their house if given the choice again.
April showers and May flowers
The current 2011 trend will hopefully be reversed in spring and summer when sales are expected to pick up, states MSNBC. The number of home sales and values may end up staying down though which realtors and housing industry analysts are worried about considering the amount of underwater mortgages. The National Association of Realtors has high hopes. It thinks that this year alone there can be a 7.4 percent increase in home sales. One of the biggest complaints from the real estate industry has been that lenders are being too stingy, and standing in the way of the recovery that would benefit them by being too conservative with loan capital.
Downturn fuels skeptics
The American Dream seems to be crumbling as there are even more skeptics of the real estate industry. An article on the USA Today website quoted Robert Shiller, co-founder of the real estate tracking Case-Shiller Index, as saying that individuals purchase houses for security or lifestyle reasons. There was another economist that talked about the return on a home. Typically, the return is around 6 percent. With all the fees and depressed costs, it might be even worse. A lot of people are not getting a return at all.
Information from
Reuters
reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/us-usa-housing-survey-idUSTRE73B0T220110412
MSNBC
msnbc.msn.com/id/42521765/ns/business-real_estate/
USA Today
usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2011-03-20-home-ownership.htm