By Kylie Burks

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.—Americans are exposed to the concept of the American dream from a young age. This national idea is often understood as the state of an individual being able to advance their place in society to become economically successful and live a comfortable life. An integral aspect of this is owning a house.

“Within each of us as Americans is the desire to own our own property because that is how our fathers did it and how his fathers did it,” Springfield realtor Steve Burks, who has worked in the housing industry for 30 years, said. “Back to the beginning of our country owning your own piece of property was everything there was. People want a place to call their own.”

Though this dream persists, the ability for a person to buy a house has become increasingly less in the 21^st century. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis, home ownership rates have decreased since their peak in 2002 with 74.8% of citizens owning a home. Now in 2024 that percentage is 70.5%, which is an improvement from 2023’s 68%.

 Burks said that this is due to financial reasons as many people cannot afford the rising home prices and interest rates that come with them. “Back in the 90s and 2000s it was somewhat affordable. You could take your income and take it two or three times your income was what you could afford [to buy],” Burks said. “Now to get into something based upon your income it’s seven to nine times more.”

Burks said that this increase in cost is due to multiple factors, including low supply and high demand of homes, leading to 50% of an average person’s income having to go to mortgage payments as opposed to 30% in previous decades. This leaves many people with no option but to rent property.

Though many neighborhoods, including Rountree, have higher house ownership than rental rates, the rental rates are still very high. According to city health indicators, Rountree has a rental rate of 42%, nearly half of the homes in the neighborhood. Burks said that this is due to the convenience of the midtown location for young people as well as affordable rates.

Though renting is not often viewed as the ideal option, it often the only route people can take, especially if they are younger. According to City Data, most of Rountree’s population is made up of people between the ages of 20-25, which includes many college students from surrounding universities like Missouri State University. These students often rent while attending school and the Rountree neighborhood is an ideal location because of its proximity to the campus.

Lainey Pierson is a junior at Missouri State University and lives on Pickwick Avenue. Her grandparents bought the house she lives in in the 1990s and offered it to many members of her family, including Pierson and her older sister. Because of this they do not have to pay rent, which Pierson said is a blessing. However, Pierson said that the area itself was another draw to the house, not just the familial ties.

“I don’t drive to campus because I’m so close. I usually just ride my bike there, which is really nice. There are other streets nearby where a lot of the houses are rented to college students that go to Missouri State so it’s a popular area for college students to look at,” she said.  

Though Burks and many other experts don’t anticipate the rates reversing any time soon, the people in rental properties still find joy and contentment where they are . Many, however, still hope to one day achieve the dream of owning their own house, something that current and future generations will have to work harder to achieve.