Owning a home used to be the surest path for individuals to build wealth, however, courtesy of the real estate fiasco plaguing the nation, less than two in three Americans now believe that is true. The Federal Reserve Board has stated that once equity has been established, a home owner’s net worth is 46 times that of a renter’s. Despite that fact, Americans no longer believe that buying a home is a safe investment.

Home Ownership No Longer Considered Safe Haven

Individuals looked towards entering the new millennium with a sense of optimism, a decade ago four out of five consumers' thought buying a home was a good investment (Fannie Mae, National Housing Quarterly Survey). That hopefulness helped propel the infamous real estate boom and subsequent bust cycle fueled by the mortgage industry meltdown. As a result, the most recent survey conducted by Fannie Mae, the nation's largest provider of home mortgages, has found that 64 percent of Americans consider home ownership to be a safe investment.

That number represents a significant change in thinking from early 2010 when 70 percent of consumers believed home ownership was a safe move. The contrast is even sharper when compared to 2003 survey results. At that time, 83 percent of participants believed home ownership would fund their pursuit of the American Dream.

As consumers move away from home mortgages and buying the roof overhead, renting is becoming the increasingly popular choice for shelter. At the conclusion of 2010, the rental vacancy rate fell to 9.4 percent, marking the lowest level since 2007's second quarter (HuffingtonPost.com).

As more families and individuals opt to rent the roof over head, rent prices are increasing. The trend was first marked in 2010 when it was found that landlords raised rental fees by an average of 4.2 across the nation. Dallas, Texas based apartment-market research firm, Axiometrics, reported that 2010 was one of the best financial periods for landlords over the past 15 years (Realestate.msn.com).

That opportunity was a result of supply and demand in the rental dwelling sector and Axiometrics expects the trend to continue for the short term. The research firm has estimated that nationally, rent increases should max out at 5 percent towards the conclusion of 2011 and will gradually decline as more rental properties become available in the future.

Millennials Bucking the Trend

Although attitudes are changing in regards to securing home loans and home ownership, Gen Y (AKA Millennials) are being accredited with being optimistic about buying homes and the future investment potential surrounding the transactions. According to the results of real estate website Trulia's biannual American Dream Survey, 26 percent of the coveted demographic are more confident in regards to investing in a home when in comparison to their views from the previous six months. When asked the same question, only 18 percent of 35 to 54 year-olds, and 22 percent of baby boomers were idealistic about buying a home.

Not only are Millennials hopeful about home ownership, they are considered to be the key demographic to reviving the housing industry. According to survey results, 88 percent of Gen Y stated their long term plans to buy a home in the future. However, unlike their free wheeling forefathers, the generation is more likely to make conservative living choices and make due with less for financial security. Gen Y is expected to slowly transition from renting to buying and when they do, they will take the time to crunch the numbers on a mortgage calculator to ensure that they buy a home based on their actual earnings, not a house they can grow into.

Gen Y is comprised of approximately 80 million people and once they transition from renting to buying, Mortgage Marvel, the industry's premiere mortgage rates origination tool, is poised to assist them in locating the best rates on home loan opportunities. Mortgage Marvel is considered to be the "better rate finder" and can provide anyone (regardless of their demographic) the ability to locate local mortgage rates, without requiring any personal information.