Home Ownership highest ever because of Bush Policies - LIAR

[TA]

Heard this on the Al Frankin Show so I thought I would check it out. With the typical Bush spin it is true but lets be honest - Home ownership has increased every year since 1965 (except for a dip during the presidency of Ronald Reagan).

From the Forbes Article:
The U.S. Census Bureau has been measuring home ownership rates since 1965. In the fourth quarter of that year, the home ownership rate was 63.4%. (The home ownership rate is defined as proportion of households that are owners.) The rate has risen slowly but steadily ever since. In the fourth quarter of 2003, the home ownership rate was 68.6%. In those 39 years, the home ownership rate went up 33 times.

This trend does not seem to be owing to any particular set of policies. U.S. policy, notably the mortgage interest tax deduction and the general ease of credit has long favored home ownership. The one era where home ownership decreased was, oddly enough, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. When he took office, the home ownership rate was 65.6%. When he left the White House, it had fallen to 63.9%. This was despite falling interest rates.

http://www.forbes.com/strategies/2004/09/03/cx_da_0903topnews.html

[ComerPerro]

1. Good find

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[Hello_Kitty]

3. Yeah but...

Couldn't that be realistically attributed to the aging of the population more than anything else? I mean, people do tend to buy homes when they get older, don't they?

[Lefty48197]

4. When Bill Clinton left office, we had...

the lowest unemployment and inflation rates in a generation. We had a budget surplus, and we had the highest rate of home ownership in American history.
The last item is the only one that Bush hasn't destroyed yet.

[chicagojoe]

5. Homeownership is up due to low interest rates. Period.

Relatively speaking, my parents probably made more money than I do, yet back in the late 60's/early 70's, high interest rates didn't even allow them to afford a new auto, much less a home.