Rising Housing Costs Punish American Families

Commentary For generations, homeownership has been the foundation of the American dream. Homeownership has been an attainable aspiration that has enabled capital accumulation and wealth preservation. It has traditionally facilitated both a comfortable retirement for homeowners and the ability to provide education and other goods for their children and grandchildren and to pass on wealth to future generations. Indeed, with most of their wealth found in the equity of their homes, no other sector of the economy affects the working and middle classes as much as housing. However, in recent years, the dream of home ownership has become increasingly out of reach for more and more American workers and families....