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New Survey Finds 65 Percent of Homeowners
Now Look Favorably Upon Renting Over Owning
Concerns over erratic housing market, rising
foreclosures, and
uncertain mortgage rates reflect change in
consumer attitudes, NAA finds
Arlington,
VA, May 2007 –
A new survey commissioned by the National
Apartment Association finds that an erratic
housing market in the U.S., marked by
uncertainty over mortgage rates and concerns
about rising foreclosures, indicates that many
homeowners are seeing renting an apartment in a
more favorable light than they may have in the
past.
The independent survey of more than 2,100 U.S.
homeowners,
conducted by leading market research firm Harris
Interactive®, finds that 65 percent
of homeowners believe that, given the current
state of the real estate market, there are
advantages to renting as opposed to owning.
“This survey reflects a notable contrast to what
we traditionally see,” said National Apartment
Association (NAA) President Douglas Culkin. “In
the past, people who own their homes have
generally seen renting an apartment as a
stepping stone to homeownership. That
phenomenon has by no means disappeared, but,
across the nation, we’re seeing more and more
consumers opting to rent, instead of own.”
Among the key advantages of renting versus
owning, homeowners cited:
▪ No susceptibility to foreclosure (25 percent)
▪ Not being impacted by an unpredictable real
estate resale market (23 percent)
▪ No fluctuating interest rates (23 percent)
Only 54 percent of homeowners cited the
inability to build equity if renting as a major
concern about apartment or condominium living.
Interestingly, a larger proportion of homeowners
(62 percent) cited potential lack of privacy as
a more serious consideration.
“There’s been a lot of discussion of the
economic fallout of sub-prime mortgage lending
that happened over the last few years,” said
NAA’s Culkin. “However, little attention has
been paid to how the crisis has affected current
homeowners’ views of homeownership as an
investment choice.”
“Make no mistake, these things are cyclical,”
said Culkin. “However, this survey reflects an
interesting view of how homeowners value their
home equity — and in our industry, we don’t see
this changing anytime soon.”
Adding to the complexity of the issue is the
fact that homeowners who have lost, or may soon
lose, their homes to foreclosure are now facing
the added difficulty of failing to qualify as
creditworthy apartment renters.
In an effort to help these “born-again renters,”
NAA, in collaboration with the National Multi
Housing Council, is “proactively engaged in
finding ways to address the growing credit
problem and assist consumers in getting into
apartment homes. There are a lot of people out
there who need help,” said Culkin. “We want to
do all we can to help them.”
About the survey
This survey was
conducted online within the United States by
Harris Interactive on behalf of the National
Apartment Association between April 26 and April
30, 2007 among 2,118 adults (aged 18 and over)
who own a house, townhouse, condominium, or
cooperative apartment. Figures for region, age
within gender, education, household income and
race/ethnicity were weighted where necessary to
bring them into line with their actual
proportions in the population. Propensity score
weighting was also used to adjust for
respondents’ propensity to be online.
With a pure
probability sample of 2,118, one could say with
a ninety-five percent probability that the
overall results would have a sampling error of
+/- 3 percentage points. Sampling error for data
based on sub-samples may be higher and would
vary. However, that does not take other sources
of error into account. This online survey is not
based on a probability sample and therefore no
theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About Harris
Interactive
Harris
Interactive is the 12th largest and
fastest-growing market research firm in the
world. The company provides innovative research,
insights and strategic advice to help its
clients make more confident decisions which lead
to measurable and enduring improvements in
performance. Harris Interactive is widely known
for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running,
independent opinion polls and for pioneering
online market research methods. The company has
built what it believes to be the world’s largest
panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll
Online. Harris Interactive serves clients
worldwide through its United States, Europe and
Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiaries
Novatris in France and MediaTransfer AG in
Germany, and through a global network of
independent market research firms. More
information about Harris Interactive may be
obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.
About the National Apartment Association
One-third of the homes in America are apartment
homes and many of these homes are represented by
the National Apartment Association, America's
leading advocate for quality rental housing
which represents more than 6.1 million apartment
homes throughout the United States and Canada.
The organization's mission is to serve the
interests of multifamily housing owners,
managers, developers and suppliers and maintain
a high level of professionalism in the
multifamily housing industry. For additional
information please visit
www.naahq.org.
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