I understand why the government or society wants people to have homes. I get it, the whole beneficial aspect of homeownership. But individually, I’m not seeing it as a moral good.

—Alan Berks

Once upon a time, people bought houses to live in…with the sudden run-up in foreclosures, you’re starting to see people ask, is housing a good investment? In fact, it probably never was.

—William Clark, a geography professor at UCLA, who explained that the mind-set began to change in the 1970s, when it became something so much more.