Realty Times June 25, 2003

It Takes Home Owners To Raise A Village
by Broderick Perkins

A funny thing happens to home owners on the way to the bank.

They get richer.

It's not just the equity-richness that's built a new economic foundation for the nation -- a phenomena that stands on its own.

It's also a more personal richness that's fueling a healthier culture.

Home owners are more likely to raise better-adjusted kids who are more likely to excel in school. Home owners are more civic minded, they are politically active citizens and they regularly turn out to vote. And they typically are happier, healthier people who have a brighter outlook on life. Perhaps the best news about all this is that, well, this isn't new news.

A growing archive of scholarly research documents how home ownership can not only swell your wallet, but puff up your chest too.

A long time leader in academic research on the subject, Robert Dietz, a Ph. D. candidate in the Department of Economics at (Columbus) Ohio State University, recently released the latest evidence of the personal windfall that comes with home ownership.

In "The Social Consequences of Homeownership," a study commissioned by the Homeownership Alliance, a coalition of organizations that beats the drum for the American housing system, Dietz found:

  • Children of home owners are likely to perform higher on academic achievement tests and are more likely to finish high school. Children of home owners have fewer behavioral problems in school and are less likely to become pregnant as teenagers.

  • Political activity, such as voting and participation in civic organizations, is higher among home owners.

  • Home owners are more satisfied with their lives and are happier.

  • Recent research suggests that high levels of home ownership in neighborhoods enhance property values.

    The report supports findings from Dietz's early studies as well as other research including Baltimore-based John Hopkins University's "Home Ownership Improves Lifestyles for the Poor in Distressed Neighborhoods" and Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of New York's "Home Buyer Program Makes A Difference" (See Page 6 of the PDF file.).

    "Given the governmental policy commitment to promoting home ownership, an understanding of the positive impacts of home ownership is critical in assessing the efficiency of these policies," Dietz told the National Press Club early this month, National Homeownership Month.

    "On the whole, home ownership is associated with positive social outcomes at the individual, household and community level. These positive social outcomes include higher household life satisfaction and happiness."

    Buying a home is likely the most financially and emotionally trying transaction you'll ever endure, but the pay off goes far beyond tax-breaks and the equity you stand to amass.

    You, your kids and your neighborhood will feel so much better for it.


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