"That this is so has a lot to do with the fact that at 69 percent, the supposedly “spendthrift” United States has the highest rate of home ownership in its history."
That's a joke. Home ownership is not really ownership if the bank owns the house and you pay them a mortgage!
The percentage of Home Equity has gone down and the article forgot to mention that.
Yes, the percentage has plummeted to 57.1%.