If homeownership is nothing else, it's popular. Through all of the economic gyrations of the past 50 years, ownership rates have consistently stayed within a few points of 65%:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjildZetd0D3somNxqAbveQh9cwNpVhlV3OFhk96lDnqFxLQmAe4nkCk4i0NU39Vvawe9tIFODw91UcV3nDEVDeCsUnv4_2iz6DsXcx6RALYfBK30OqgSnymHQqS5KuQ6Jxw1JpMQQUc/s1600/Historic_U.S._Homeownership_Rate,_as_of_2014.svg.png)
Does the omnipresent "housing is a great investment" advice jive with reality?
Let's look at some numbers.