Survey Shows Americans Upbeat About Owning Homes

In spite of gloomy news about housing coming from virtually all directions, a new survey reveals that 70 percent of Americans would advise friends and family to buy a house, Thomas Wilson, CEO and chairman of the insurance company Allstate Corporation, told CNBC Friday.

“The underlying demand for houses has not changed, despite the fact that consumers are more conservative and want to save more,” said Wilson, who is also vice-chairman of the Chicago Fed.

“By a factor of 4 to 1, they think investing in a home is a better deal than investing in the stock market,” he said.

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The survey, called the Heartland Monitor, released quarterly, is a joint project of Allstate and the National Journal. The respondents, 66 percent of whom are homeowners, are geographically located across the country.

Highlights of the survey are:

• 63 percent think the current housing crisis is temporary
• 59 percent say they are living the American dream
• 58 percent believe that achieving the American dream is tied to their own skills and hard work rather than the state of the economy

The Federal Reserve called the housing market “depressed” this week and noted that investment in the residential structures continues to be weak.