Is owning a home part of the American Dream or are we being fed a whopping portion of American delusion?
According to the 2003 National Housing Study by Fannie Mae, 65% of Americans cite the “dream” as a reason to buy a house.
A study by real estate Professor Grace W. Bucchinaneri of The Wharton Scool, University of Pennsylvnia brings into question the validity of the American Dream, with results that show homeowners feel more pain than pleasure from their castles. (In addition, her evidence shows homeowners are fatter.) This is a Whopper of a study.
The research is based on a survey of 600 women in Franklin County, Ohio, which includes Columbus, the state’s largest city. One might pooh-pooh the study in light of the recent housing meltdown but the survey took place during a boom market in May 2005!
The survey, limited to single family houses, controlled for household income, housing quality, and health, to draw the conclusion that homeowners aren’t any happier than renters. The professor uses the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) questionnaire.
According to the paper:
Homeowners are no happier than renters by any of the following definitions: life satisfaction, overall mood, overall feeling, general moment-to-moment emotions (i.e. affect) and affect at home but instead derive more pain from their house and home…..
The average homeowner tends to spend less time on active leisure with friends, experiences more negative affect during time spent with friends, derives less joy from love and relationships and is also less likely to consider herself to enjoy being with other people.
Ouch. No only that, but the housewife is 12 pounds heavier.
Ms. Bucchianeri, herself a homeowner since 2005, told a Wharton newsletter:
Homeowners report more positive results, but if you control for basic characteristics such as income, how nice the home is and health status, those results go away. This suggests that our perception that homeowners are better off than renters might be fueled only by casual observations. The conventional wisdom might not hold up so well when you look at the data carefully.
Hmm… after reading the paper, the reason why homeowners are not happier than renters may have nothing to do with home ownership. According to the paper’s findings, homeowners tend to be older, live with a spouse, and have children.
h/t TheClozing (via WSJ).
Sources:
The American Dream or the American Delusion? The Private and External Benefits of Home Ownership
2003 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey
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