Home ownership has been a longstanding part of the American Dream, one that seems increasingly elusive in recent decades.

Costs for home purchases have risen dramatically in the past 50 years. It’s made many members of the baby boom generation wealthy.

They purchased homes in the 1970s or 1980s and watched them appreciate in value. Very often nowadays retirees have their house as their greatest asset.

The problem we face in 2023 is that the home value increase is not likely to continue. Values can’t increase much more without going well beyond what most middle class buyers can pay. It’s like a pyramid scheme when sooner or later an investor will lose money,

I don’t know who to blame for the situation. Maybe it should be bankers who have at times offered home loans with no down payment.

It could also be blamed on investor owners who’ve priced affordable homes beyond what first-time buyers can afford. Cable television channels are filled with pitches for people to sell their homes without hassles. I have concerns about that.

The investor buyers are inserting themselves as middle-men in a market that doesn’t need them. They want to capture dollars that could instead benefit buyers and sellers.

It’s better if we stay with the tradition of selling affordable homes to young families or middle aged singles and couples. Maybe the families will stay in their homes and raise their kids. They’d get the same lasting benefits that helped the people who built their houses.

I grew up in a perfect mid 20th century neighborhood. The Eatros Place development next to the Marshall Country Club was exactly what was needed in its time period. It’s the kind of neighborhood we still need.

The homes are mostly basic ramblers and bungalows. They were built in a time period when three main floor bedrooms, a single car garage and a modest yard qualified as the American Dream.

Now many people want four or five bedrooms and triple car garages. Some, however, would opt for affordability if more homes in such a price range were available.

It’s reached a point that anything priced at less than $200,000 and that’s in good shape will sell very quickly. People have to stretch their budgets for that much of a home purchase. It has to be carefully evaluated.

Anyone who buys should plan to live in the house for at least seven years. Otherwise they’re likely to lose money because of transaction costs, moving expenses and home maintenance.

Hopefully ownership will remain possible for working class families. It would be nice to have many of them become true owners after paying off a 30-year mortgage. That’s when the advantages of owning truly pay off.

It’s hard to predict what will happen. The mortgage system was created at a time when jobs were stable, when people were very unlikely to be laid off. It was created when one income was enough to afford a home. Many women were homemakers.

We’ll need to balance supply and demand. Part of our city planning process should involve a goal for at least one neighborhood with affordable, owner occupied homes.

There also has to be a willingness to build those types of homes. They might not lead to as much profit from each lot as bigger new homes, but they’d serve an important purpose.

We had an economic boom after World War II. Many veterans came home from the war, started families and bought houses. Southview Drive on Eatros Place gained a nickname of G.I. Drive because of the number of World War II and Korean War veterans who built homes on it.

Now we need a similar trend, one based on sustainability. Everyone should have an opportunity to buy or build, especially if they’re willing to hold off for at least several years until they save enough for a good down payment.

A well-rounded housing market takes planning. It’s vital that we work to create opportunities for today’s buyers and those from future generations.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent