Brookfield and Prudential bullish on housing ownership

Late last week, Brookfield released the second quarter “Real Estate Outlook Survey”. You may recall findings from the first quarter survey were released following Convention which showed a full 60 percent of Americans had favorable views toward the real estate market. The most recent survey showed that Americans are increasingly confident about homeownership and the real estate market recovery.

Signs of growing confidence are widespread, according to the national survey. For instance:

· 69% believe that real estate is a good investment despite the market volatility of the past few years, up 6 percentage points from the first-quarter 2012 survey and 17 percentage points from first quarter 2011.

· 72% expressed confidence that the real estate market and property values will improve during the next two years, including a 6-point jump among those “very confident” or “confident” vs. the first quarter 2012

· Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents have a favorable perception of the U.S. housing market, up from 60% in first quarter 2012.

As Earl Lee, president, Prudential Real Estate, stated, “The American Dream is clearly on the mend.”

Homeownership remains the central component to the American Dream, as 78% of respondents said owning a home was still “very important” – the same percentage reported in the first-quarter 2012 study. A full 98% said homeownership was at least somewhat important. In addition, with interest rates at historically low levels, 96% of respondents at least “somewhat agree” that now is a great time to buy a home – the same percentage reported in the first-quarter 2012 study.

The survey also shows that consumers remain cautious about the real estate market and process, as a full 30% “strongly agree” that the housing crisis reminds them to be more careful about buying or selling a home; up two percentage points from the first-quarter 2012 survey. Another finding that is especially reassuring for us as Real Estate Solutions Providers is that nearly three out of four (74%) respondents think it is more important than ever to work with a good real estate agent for the best success in buying or selling a home (up from 71% in first-quarter 2012).

Dewey and Allen 

( Co-owners of Prudential Tropical Realty, New Port Richey, FL)

( Brookfield is a large real estate holding company who tracks the housing market )