New Prudential Real Estate Poll: Americans Increasingly Optimistic about Homeownership

Prudential Real Estate released a new national survey at Sales Convention showing that Americans are significantly more optimistic about homeownership than they were a year ago.

According to the second-annual Prudential Real Estate Outlook Survey, a full 60% of Americans have favorable views toward the real estate market.  That’s up 8 points since last year!

The survey shows that signs of increasing optimism are widespread:

·         With interest rates at historically low levels, 96% agree or somewhat agree that now is a good time to buy.

·         A full 70% of respondents have some degree of confidence that property values will improve over the next two years; with an 8 point increase in those very confident or confident compared to last year.

·         63% believe that real estate is a good investment despite the recent market volatility; that’s up 11 points from last year.

The survey confirms that despite the recession, homeownership remains a central part of the American Dream.  8 in 10 respondents said homeownership is very important to them; only 15% said the economic downturn made homeownership less important.