Political Parties Agree on Value of Homeownership
- Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to believe that homeownership is necessary to live the American Dream.
- Metros with slower home value growth are more politically divided on the American Dream question.
- Survey respondents from both parties believe that homeownership increases one’s standing in the local community and is a key to higher social status.
Although a housing affordability crunch means that many Americans cannot afford to buy a home, homeownership is an American value that largely transcends political lines. Seventy-three percent of both Republicans and Democrats believe that owning one increases homeowners’ standing in their local community, according to the latest Zillow Housing Aspirations Report (ZHAR). About two-thirds of those surveyed – 65 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Republicans – also believe that owning a home is a key to higher social status.
A majority of respondents from both parties say that homeownership is necessary to live the American Dream, although Republicans are slightly more likely (69 percent) than Democrats (65 percent) to believe that.
The difference between parties becomes clearer at the metro level: Republicans and Democrats living in metro areas with slower home value growth are more polarized on the question of whether homeownership is a bedrock of the American Dream.
In Philadelphia – where the housing market has grown slowly but steadily over the past five years[1] – there’s a 14 percentage-point difference between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to the role of homeownership in fulfilling the American Dream. Republicans in the City of Brotherly Love are much more likely to draw the association.
By contrast, in San Diego, which has experienced strong home value growth, there’s a negligible difference of less than 2 percentage points between respondents from each party when asked if homeownership is integral to the American Dream. In places like San Diego that have experienced considerable growth over the past five years, there are many opportunities for prosperity and success besides owning a home. This may help to explain why Democrats and Republicans are more likely to see eye-to-eye in these high-growth areas.
That distinction remains despite the relative affordability of the market – with Republican and Democratic respondents in pricey Washington, D.C., showing a nearly 14 percentage point spread, while markets with lower home values such as Detroit, Tampa and Phoenix have much narrower spreads on the American Dream question. The difference is that Washington D.C., has seen slow home value growth in recent years, while home values in Detroit, Tampa and Phoenix have climbed rapidly.
[1] Home values in the Philadelphia metro did not fall nearly as precipitously as in other major metro areas during the housing bust, which explains why growth has been slow over the past five years.