Own your own home and live happily ever after? Not likely. Just like any fairy tale, the myth of home ownership falls way short of reality.

A new study  of 600 women in Columbus, Ohio — done in 2005 before the sub-prime fiasco — found home ownership actually made people unhappier. Women who owned their homes:

At first glance, the study found home ownership did have the warm, fuzzy benefits (higher satisfaction with life and more joy from home,  work and their neighborhood)  that we’ve been programmed to expect.

She looks happy. Must be a renter.

Happy home owners? Not

When Professor Bucchianeri (a Professor of Real Estate from the Wharton School of Business) took into account household income, housing value and health status, the reality didn’t live up to the romanticized ideal.

“The average home owner, however, consistently derives more pain (but no joy) from their house and home,” said Bucchianeri.

And far from being free to enjoy the fruits of their neighborhood, she found the average homeowner spends 4% to 6% less of their waking hours having fun with friends and neighbors … and when they do, they don’t even enjoy it as much.

This research is particularly interesting as the recession makes us reexamine our values and downsize our life styles. Maybe working that second job to pay for a new home isn’t worth it.  Maybe renting isn’t such a bad option.

Bucchianeri says she isn’t campaigning against the American Dream. She’s trying to instill some balance into the debate. She told Knowledge@Wharton that “It’s really difficult, but more thinking should go into this rather than just accepting the conventional wisdom and going into home ownership by default.”

You can read Bucchianeri’s research, “The American Dream or the  American Delusion,” here, or read the article about it by Knowledge@Wharton, “So you think owning a home will make you happy? Don’t be so sure.”

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