Renting: The new American dream?

The American dream of home ownership has turned out to be the American nightmare for those who could never really afford a home in the first place.

Many borrowers are now in deep trouble as home prices have plummeted and the payments on bubble-era adjustable rate mortgages have shot up. Foreclosures are still continuing at an alarming pace.

If the so-called Great Recession has taught us anything, it's that buying a house is not a divine right. It's a privilege to be earned only after you've saved up a nice chunk of cash for a down payment and are in a healthy enough financial position to keep making those monthly mortgage payments.

The full article here: money.cnn.com/2010/04/14/markets/thebuzz/index.htm

It is important to note that there are many factors to consider when making broad statement like defining the American Dream. To me it is having choices. Renting is a sound strategy sometimes and sometimes it is not. There are way too many variables to consider. I could argue both cases very easily depending on ones' specific situation.
An interesting stat is that 25% of resident were moving out to buy a home and now only 12% do. Sounds familiar? When it was a bad time to do more people made the jump into home ownership and now that the market appears to offer great opportunities less people make the change.
There is a shift in our economy with some short term and long term impacts. I do believe that the home ownership is a good move if it makes sense. Just plain old common sense...