Most Americans feel that owning a home is a wise investment even in the wake of the housing bust that continues to drag on the economy’s recovery, a new Rasmussen Reports survey finds.

Still, now is not a good time to sell, the poll revealed.

The telephone survey of 1,000 American adults found that 52 percent felt buying a home is the best investment a family can make, while 26 percent disagreed and 22 percent weren’t sure.

Editor's Note: Startling Proof of the End of America’s Middle Class. Details in the Video

“The number of adults who see buying a home as a family’s best investment has mainly been in the 50s and 60s since regular tracking began in April 2009,” Rasmussen stated.

“However, that finding dropped into the 40s for most of 2011, but has rebounded slightly since.”

Meanwhile, only 16 percent of those polled think now is the right time for someone in their area to sell his or her home, while 59 percent disagreed.

The housing sector helped push the U.S. economy into the worst downturn since the Great Depression and continues to weigh on its recovery.

The market has shown signs of improvement in the form of rising prices, firming sales and increased groundbreakings from time to time, but it’s too early to claim victory just yet, said the country’s top central banker.

“Although there are good reasons to be encouraged by the recent direction of the housing market, we should not be satisfied with the progress we have seen so far,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Operation HOPE Global Financial Dignity Summit recently, according to Reuters.

While tight credit may have been appropriate during the boom, banks need to loosen up a little today.

“[I]t seems likely at this point that the pendulum has swung too far the other way, and that overly tight lending standards may now be preventing creditworthy borrowers from buying homes, thereby slowing the revival in housing and impeding the economic recovery,” Bernanke added.

Editor's Note: Startling Proof of the End of America’s Middle Class. Details in the Video