A recent survey of 1,000 U.S. homeowners found that half of them believe the American Dream is ‘eroding’ or ‘broken’. The survey, conducted by Hometap in June 2026, asked homeowners about their experiences with homeownership and their views on the American Dream.

Key Findings

The survey revealed that 56% of respondents described homeownership as ‘stability’ to their parents’ generation, while 51% still chose that word to describe it today. However, the larger changes appear elsewhere, with ‘investment’ rising from 19% to 27%, and ‘burden’ more than doubling from 3% to 6%.

Only 18% of homeowners say homeownership has fully delivered on its role as a cornerstone of the American Dream. Another 45% say it has partially delivered, and a combined 36% say it has largely or completely fallen short. This sentiment holds across every generation and region surveyed.

Baby boomers stand out, with the fewest respondents saying it fully delivered (14%) and the largest share saying it only partially delivered (55%). ‘Evolving’ leads overall at 32%, but ‘eroding’ (27%) and ‘broken’ (24%) combined account for 50% of responses.

Generational Split

The generational split is notable, with baby boomers being the only generation whose top answer is ‘eroding’, at 38% — nearly double the percentage of that group who said ‘enduring’ (21%). Millennials are the most likely to say ‘broken’, at 26%.

Nearly half of homeowners (49%) describe owning their home as a major achievement, and 66% lean positive overall. Still, 11% describe it as an obligation or more of an obligation than an achievement.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.