After all this, owning a home is still the American Dream

A story in today’s New York Times suggests that even though consumers know their home is not the wonderful investment property it once was… most Americans still aspire to live the dream of home ownership.  (Click here to see the story.)

Implications:  Property and safety hold a pretty important position in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (also known as the Theory of Motivation). 

After reading this NY Times story, one might better understand how the real estate bubble became so inflated in the first place, and why the housing market is likely to eventually come back.  But perhaps more importantly in the near term, this respect for hearth and home might suggest why home improvement and home furnishings can be such resilient categories, even in a seemingly challenging economic environment.

It’s true.  There’s no place like home.  If your product or service is used there (in the home), is your messaging doing everything possible to push those hot buttons?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.