Survey: What Americans Really Think About Homeownership on the Country's 250th Birthday

Homeownership has always carried a certain weight in the U.S. It has been described as a foundation for stability, a path to wealth, a rite of passage, and most durably, a cornerstone of the American Dream. But in the summer of 2026, as the country turns 250, we wanted to know whether homeowners themselves still see it this way.

To find out, Hometap surveyed 1,000 U.S. homeowners in June 2026 to understand how they actually feel about owning a home — not as a concept, but as a lived experience. We asked about the moment of purchase, the experience of ownership over time, what this particular milestone represents to them, and what it all means for the next generation. What we found was a population that still believes in homeownership as an idea, but is increasingly skeptical about whether the system is delivering on it.

Here's what the data revealed across eight key findings.

#1: The Meaning of Homeownership Has Shifted, but Stability Still Anchors It

When asked what homeownership meant to their parents' generation, 55.5% of respondents said "stability." Asked what it means to them today, 51.2% still chose that word, so the core meaning hasn't shifted much. The bigger change shows up in two other answers: "investment" jumped from 18.8% to 26.9%, and "burden" more than doubled, from 2.8% to 6.2%. Homeownership is still seen as a foundation, but it's increasingly viewed with mixed feelings.

#2: Most Homeowners Say the Dream Hasn't Fully Delivered

Only 18.5% of homeowners say homeownership has fully delivered on its role as a cornerstone of the American Dream. 45.1% say it has partially delivered, and a combined 36.4% say it has largely or completely fallen short. Most homeowners, across every generation and region surveyed, feel this way. The baby boomer results, in particular, stand out: while this generation benefited the most from homeownership on paper, they had the fewest respondents who said it fully delivered (13.8%), and the largest cohort to say it only "partially" delivered, at 55.0%.

#3: Half of Homeowners Describe the Dream with a Negative Word, but Which Word Depends on Their Generation

"Evolving" leads overall at 32.0%, but "Eroding" (26.7%) and "Broken" (23.6%) together account for 50.3% of responses. The generational split is where the data gets interesting. Boomers are the only generation whose top answer is "Eroding" at 37.9%, nearly double their rate for "Enduring" (20.8%). Millennials are most likely to say "Broken" at 26.2%. The distinction matters. Boomers watched something decline. Millennials feel like they inherited something that already doesn't work. Same conclusion. Different reasons for it.

#4: Most Homeowners Still Feel Owning a Home Was Worth It, But the Pride Is Uneven Across Generations

49.1% of homeowners describe owning their home as a major achievement, and 66.5% lean positive overall. But 10.7% describe it as more of an obligation than an achievement, and that figure rises to 12.3% among millennials. Boomers are the most likely to call it a major achievement at 54.2%, and millennials the least, at 46.8%. The pride is still there, but it's fading.

#5: Homeownership Helped, But the Benefit Isn't Evenly Felt

45.1% of homeowners say owning made it easier to pursue the life they wanted. But 30.0% say it made no real difference, and 24.9% say it actually made life harder. And when looking at the regional results, things get even more interesting: the West reports the strongest positive experience at a net 50.4% easier, while the South is most likely to say it made life harder at a net 28.6%. This response reveals generational differences, too. Millennials show the widest range; they’re most likely to say "much easier" (18.8%), but also most likely to say "much harder" (9.5%). For younger owners, homeownership is either working well or not at all, with less middle ground than older generations’ experience.

#6: Boomers Are More Pessimistic About Homeownership Than You Might Expect

The generation that’s widely believed to have benefited the most from homeownership gives it the harshest appraisal as an institution. Boomers are the only generation where "Eroding" is the top descriptor for the dream. They are the least likely to say it fully delivered. They are also the most worried they’ll need their retirement savings before they can help their kids become homeowners, with 62.5% agreeing or strongly agreeing, compared to 51.4% of millennials. While their personal experience was largely positive, their feelings about the system are not.

#7: Parental Support Is Now Seen As a Homeownership Requirement, and Most Parents Can't Provide It

61.2% of homeowners agree or strongly agree that the wealth gap in homeownership is now so large that parental help is becoming a requirement, not a bonus. That number is virtually identical across all three generations: millennials at 62.2%, Gen X at 63.1%, and boomers at 62.5%. The consensus on the problem is near-universal. But only 39.7% say they actually have enough resources to help, while 60.3% do not. They agree the bar exists — but most can't clear it.

#8: Home Equity Is an Obvious Solution, But Almost No One Is Using It

Only 9.3% of homeowners say using their home equity is their most realistic path to helping their children buy a home. The most common answer is still leaving the home as an inheritance at 27.0%, meaning the transfer of wealth is being deferred until death rather than deployed when it could make a real difference. And 59.3% of homeowners say they have never even thought of their home equity as a tool to help their family buy a home. That figure rises to 69.2% among boomers, the group with the most accumulated equity of any generation. The asset is there. The connection to it as a tool isn't.

What Homeowners Are Telling Us About the Dream in 2026

Across generations and regions, the data tells a consistent story. Homeowners still believe in homeownership as a concept. They still experience it, more often than not, as a positive in their lives. But they are increasingly skeptical that the system is working — not just for themselves, but for the people who will inherit it.

The aspiration is durable, but the institution is straining. What the data makes clear is that the dream doesn't die with one generation's skepticism. It gets passed forward, reshaped by what each generation was told, what they experienced, and what they believe is still possible for the people who come next.

Methodology: Hometap surveyed 1,000 homeowners in the U.S. ages 18+, balanced to Census data, through AYTM (Ask Your Target Market) in June 2026. Generations were grouped by the following age ranges: Millennials ages 25–44, Generation X ages 45–64, and Baby Boomers ages 65–79.