I think that’s simplifying it a bit – as well as playing a little loose with statistics. Go to a place like the central city of Milwaukee – where almost nobody owns property – and you’ll find massive unemployment, violence, drugs, crime, etc. Then go out to the suburbs where home ownership is much higher and you’ll find a completely different scenario. It has been that way through good and bad times. Yet, you still don’t see the folks in the worst neighborhoods moving out of state (or even out of that micro area) to find jobs.
Perhaps the problem with home ownership is the way it’s viewed and implemented in this country. Get rid of 30-year mortgages and the mortgage interest deduction for a start and I think we’d see a balancing out of the pros & cons of renting vs. owning. People would not be so stuck in one place for so long if nearby economic conditions tanked. And people would be less willing to view their primary residence as an investment and more of what it is: shelter.
