Apartment Group Says Home Ownership Is Overrated A week after Republican presidential contender George Bush outlined his low-income home ownership initiative, the apartment industry has come out with a statement urging Americans not to get carried away with the notion that "ownership" is the only pillar of a sound housing policy. Clarine Nardi Riddle, senior vice president for Government Affairs for the National Multi Housing Council, conceded that home ownership was an attractive policy but "the pro-ownership rhetoric from government officials and business interests typically goes way beyond the facts." Riddle called Bush's $1.7 billion ownership proposal "overstated" with a number drawbacks ignored. "The benefits of home ownership to local communities are exaggerated and the disadvantages tend to get swept under the rug," Riddle said. "Academic studies have shown that many of the perceived differences between owners and renters in civic and neighborhood involvement are nonexistent." NMHC's analysis of data from the national General Social Survey tends to refute the notion that homeowners are better citizens. "Our research concludes that compared to owners, apartment residents are generally more socially engaged, equally involved in community groups, and similarly attached to their communities and religious institutions," Riddle said. "They are also comparably interested in national affairs and active in local politics." The NMHC has complained that America's "one-dimensional" housing policy discriminates against renters, and also ignores many advantages apartments offer communities. Because of its high density nature, the group says apartments help avoid sprawl, preserve open space, and use existing infrastructure and transportation systems more efficiently. "A housing policy that fails to appreciate these advantages contributes to land use decisions that disadvantage both renters and owners," Riddle said. "As a nation we pay a high price for our pro-ownership policies. The federal tax breaks afforded owners in 1999 through deductibility of mortgage interest and property tax totaled $78 billion, more than the combined federal spending on education, roads, mass transit, and national parks. Absent clear evidence of striking community and national advantages from ownership, this price tag seems awfully steep. "Home ownership is not a panacea for all that ails individuals and their communities. Becoming a nation almost exclusively of homeowners could well be an unfortunate turn for many of those homeowners, for local communities, and for the national economy. "Consumers and policy makers need to bring a balanced view and full information to their housing decisions. We should understand and weigh all the implications of rising home ownership before making it the central focus of our national housing policy." | 
