WASHINGTON, March 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite a historic
real-estate market upheaval that sent foreclosure rates
skyrocketing and home values plummeting, Americans still have a
deep attachment to homeownership. Furthermore, they consider
homeownership an integral part of an American Dream in which they
still believe, according to poll results announced today by The
Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) and National Journal.
The eighth quarterly Allstate-National Journal Heartland
Monitor Poll revealed that nearly nine out of 10 homeowners say
they would buy their homes again. That percentage held true even
among homeowners who said their home values had declined. Seven of
10 Americans say they would advise a friend or family member to buy
a home as a long-term asset. However, while homeownership is
perceived as a good personal decision, there is much greater
uncertainty about whether expanding homeownership should be a
government priority.
Although only 35% of respondents expect their personal financial
situations to improve over the next year, three-fourths of those
surveyed said it is still possible for people like them to achieve
the American Dream, which the poll defined as the ability to
advance as far as their talents will take them and live better than
their parents did. A total of 59% said they currently are living
the American Dream. Respondents identified owning your own home as
one of the most critical parts of the American Dream, second only
to raising a family.
"Owning a home continues to be the bedrock of the American Dream
– even as incomes are down, jobs are scarce and families struggle
to make ends meet," said Thomas J.
Wilson, Allstate chairman, president and chief executive
officer. "Homeownership is viewed positively by the vast majority
of Americans as both a place to raise a family and a sound
investment. As a result, financial institutions and the government
must work together to ensure that those who can afford their homes
stay in them and this opportunity remains a viable alternative for
all Americans."
Despite their positive statements about owning a home, only 42%
of those polled said that government's push to expand homeownership
created more stable communities, while 51% said these policies made
communities less stable because it "encouraged people to take on
too much debt" and led to foreclosures. Those surveyed split
exactly in half—46% on each side—on the broad question of whether
Washington should continue or
scale back its efforts to promote homeownership through policies
such as tax incentives for first-time buyers and the mortgage
interest deduction.
"Homeownership retains a powerful, almost tidal, grip on the
American imagination," said Ronald
Brownstein, editorial director of National Journal
Group. "Even the economic experiences of the last several years
don't seem to have dimmed the yearning for ownership. But we do see
that the public is much more ambivalent about whether the nation's
focus on expanding homeownership is a good thing for the country
overall, with even the traditionally sacred cow of the mortgage tax
deduction raising questions."
A surprising 43% of survey respondents explicitly favored
eliminating or limiting the tax break for mortgage interest.
However, one reason may be that few Americans understand how they
benefit from Washington's role in
homeownership. Three-fourths of homeowners said they have not
benefited from any federal program to promote ownership, even
though 71% of those owners acknowledged they take the mortgage
interest deduction.
Key findings from the eighth Allstate-National Journal
Heartland Monitor Poll (PDF) include:
1) Americans still believe in homeownership as a sound
investment. A solid majority (70%) of Americans would advise a
family member or close friends to buy a home to build long-term
assets.
- Just 27% disagree with this statement and say homeownership is
too risky. This measure is essentially unchanged since the first
Heartland survey in April 2009.
- Young Americans (aged 18-29) are less convinced, with 49% who
agree that homeownership is a sound investment and 49% who say it
is too risky.
- Asked to name the best investment, 24% of Americans say "buying
a home," which ranks behind "investing in retirement savings"
(38%), but ahead of "saving money in the bank" (20%), and
"investing in the stock market" (6%).
- Most Americans (63%) believe that the current housing crisis is
temporary and will improve over the next several years.
- Surprisingly, 58% of those who believe the housing crisis will
remain a serious problem would still recommend buying a home.
2) Most Americans (59%) say they are living the American
Dream.
- Those most likely to disagree include groups that typically
have less of a safety net in a struggling economy: low-income
households (51% disagree), those with a high-school education or
less (43%), African-Americans (46%), and single mothers (68%).
- Three-quarters of Americans believe the American Dream is still
achievable for people like them.
- 58% of Americans believe that the ability to achieve the
American Dream is affected more by their own skills and hard work
than by the state of the economy. This belief in hard work cuts
across every demographic and socioeconomic subgroup.
3) Americans blame banks and borrowers more than the
government for creating the housing crisis.
- More than half of Americans (52%) blame the housing crisis on
banks and lending institutions for misleading borrowers and
approving bad loans, while 32% blame people who bought homes and
took out mortgages they couldn't afford, and only 12% blame
government policies that encouraged too many people to try to own
their own homes.
- Republicans are equally likely to blame individuals (37%) and
banks (38%) for the crisis.
- Only 35% believe the federal government's policies helped limit
the crisis, while 32% think they made the crisis worse and 26%
think they had little impact.
4) Americans are split on whether the federal government
should continue policies to encourage homeownership at the same
level (46%) or scale them back because they cost too much
(46%).
- There is a clear partisan dimension to this issue, as 59% of
Democrats support continuing programs and 54% of Republicans
support scaling them back.
- Homeowners may not realize the true extent of government
involvement in encouraging ownership and mortgage financing. Three
of four homeowners (76%) say they have not benefited from any
federal government policy to promote ownership, including 71% of
those who take the mortgage deduction.
5) Americans' opinions about the direction of the country,
the economy, and President Obama have changed very little over the
past year.
- Americans are still pessimistic about the direction of the
country, with 60% who say it is on the wrong track, unchanged from
the last Heartland Monitor poll in December
2010.
- Republicans are much more pessimistic (78% wrong track) than
Democrats (41%).
- President Obama remains a polarizing leader, with 49% who
approve of the job he's doing and 44% who disapprove.
- Democrats approve by 79%-18%, independents are split at
47%-43%, and Republicans disapprove by 17%-78%.
- When Americans are asked who they trust most to develop
solutions to the country's economic challenges, President Obama
(40%) continues to maintain a slight edge over Republicans in
Congress (36%). This measure has changed very little since
January 2010.
- Similarly, there has been little change in the perception of
how Obama's policies have affected the country, with 13% saying the
country is significantly better off, 44% saying it is beginning to
move in the right direction, and 36% saying it is significantly
worse off.
Notes to Editors
Survey Methodology
National Sample of 1000 ADULTS AGE 18+
(Margin of Error = +/-3.1%)
Conducted March 4 – 8, 2011, among
800 adults via landline and 200 adults via cell phone.
About Allstate
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest
publicly held personal lines insurer. Widely known through the
"You're In Good Hands With Allstate®" slogan, Allstate is
reinventing protection and retirement to help more than 17 million
households insure what they have today and better prepare for
tomorrow. Consumers access Allstate insurance products (auto, home,
life and retirement) and services through Allstate agencies,
independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial
representatives in the U.S. and Canada, as well as via www.allstate.com and
1-800 Allstate®. For an overview of the other Allstate-National
Journal Heartland Monitor Polls, visit
http://www.allstate.com/heartland-monitor. Additional information
is available at www.storiesfromtheheartland.com.
About National Journal Group
Since 1969, National Journal Group has provided insight for
insiders through nonpartisan reporting on current political and
policy issues as well as tools professionals need to do their jobs
well. National Journal Group properties include National
Journal, National Journal Daily, NationalJournal.com,
The Hotline, The Almanac of American Politics and Global
Security Newswire.
About FD
One of the most highly regarded consultancies in the
communications industry, FD employs more than 750 staff and advises
more than 1,000 clients worldwide through its hub offices in
London and New York, as well as its network of wholly
owned offices in Bahrain,
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Town, Chicago, Dubai, Dublin, Frankfurt, Hong
Kong, Johannesburg,
Los Angeles, Manchester, Melbourne, Moscow, Panama City, Paris, San
Francisco, Shanghai,
Sydney and Washington, DC. With a 20-year history
of advising clients in both the private and public sectors, FD's
services include financial public relations, capital markets
communications, public affairs, crisis and issues management and
corporate, business-to-business and business-to-consumer
communications. FD is also a market leader in M&A
advisory work. FD is structured around specialist sector
teams operating on an international basis, covering consumer
industries, financial services, basic industries, business
services, life sciences & healthcare, media, real estate,
technology and telecommunications. FD is a division of FTI
Consulting Inc. (NYSE: FCN), the global business advisory firm.
For more information, please visit www.fd.com.
SOURCE The Allstate Corporation