CHICAGO – June 16, 2017 – More than two-thirds of Americans believe that owning a home is an essential part of the American dream, according to a new survey of more than 11,300 registered voters released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

"Americans continue to place a high priority on homeownership and work hard to achieve this goal for their families," says NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald.

Other recent surveys also have shown a high desire for homeownership, despite the homeownership rate remaining stalled near a historical low of 64 percent. About 80 percent of millennials recently surveyed by rental website Apartment List say they hope to one day buy a home.

However, being able to afford one is the main obstacle holding them back, millennials say. Thirty-six percent of the 24,000 millennial renters born between 1982 and 2004 surveyed said they'll likely need to wait more than five years before they'll have saved enough to buy. More than two-thirds of survey respondents say they don't even have $1,000 in down-payment savings.

Source: National Association of Home Builders and "Wannabe Buyers Aren't Saving Enough," Realtor® Magazine online