Since the bursting of the housing bubble in 2008, homeownership has been declining, and the pace of declined appears to have accelerated in the past year. Gallup, the people who provide an array of polls and surveys, finds that only 62 percent of Americans it surveyed owned a home compared to 68 percent in 2011.

This is actually good news, because it points to pent up demand when you consider that the historical homeownership rate ranges between 65 percent and 66 percent.

We're aware of many media reports that point to a change of culture in the housing market; that is, a change toward a renting culture from a buying one. We don't buy it, at least not for the long term. Ask anyone if he or she would prefer to live in a neighborhood of renters or owners. Most, we assure you, prefer owners.

Many people were spooked by the dramatic price declines that occurred over the past four years, so it's likely that many people when questioned on homeownership were speaking more out of fear than knowledge. Now that it appears that prices have stabilized, we expect more of these people to regain their bearings and consider what they really want – and that's to buy a home and to live in a neighborhood of homeowners.

As we mentioned above, prices matter – and today's low home prices simply won't stay this low indefinitely. After a couple more months of favorable pricing data, that fact will resonate with more prospective buyers.

Courtesy of Jessica Regan.

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