Majority of Americans Still Value Homeownership Even After Recession

Well-known psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig partners with Coldwell Banker to explore why homeownership is so desired by Americans.  And while the recession had an obvious impact, Dr. Robi believes the emotional and psychological benefits of homeownership will never go away.

Learn about Dr. Robi and her analysis.

Hi my name is Dr. Robi Ludwig, and I’m a psychotherapist in New York City. I teamed up with Coldwell Banker Real Estate this Spring to better understand Americans’ mindset after the recession on important issues like owning a home.

In my decades of practice, it’s always fascinated me to study how timely issues or tragic circumstances can affect us. In some cases, we also find that in spite of issues at hand, our underlying emotions and deep-seeded beliefs remain consistent even in times of stress or strife.

Clearly the recession has had an impact and one of the questions American’s have is the value of homeownership. I believe the home has a deep psychological value that goes beyond the financial investment so we decided to get straight to the source and survey more than 2,100 Americans to get a sense of their state of mind following the recession.

It caused me to reflect personally about my first real home, as well. My parents recently sold my childhood home in New Jersey. They were excited to move to a new community, but I was surprised at my own feelings of loss and then nostalgia. Then again, this was a home that hosted happy occasions, school pep rallies, prom photos, Thanksgiving dinners – it was essentially another character in our family, and that it was natural to feel this strong emotional pull.

So how did our survey compare to my own feelings about the home? Here’s a brief video in which I share some of our most important findings: namely, we learned that for the overwhelming majority of Americans, owning a home is still a very fundamental part of the American Dream (in spite of the recession), and it’s something we feel is important for our children in the future!