Do Americans own property?

So long as there are property taxes, zoning laws, building codes, the answer is a resounding no. Property "owners" are taxed on the very "ownership" of "their" property. What does this mean? If a property "owner" does not pay this tax in full, the property can be confiscated by the government. This is not private ownership. Rather, it is effectively state (or municipality) ownership of the property. The state merely allows persons to live on the property to provide the state with an income for which the state does little to earn, but rather steals it through sheer coercion. This type of economic system of property has existed before. It was called the feudal system. Feudal lords owned land and allowed serfs to live and work on the land so long as they paid a tax to the landlord. The modern system of property taxation is only marginally different. Perhaps an apt name for such a system is democratic feudalism.
In addition to taxation, many municipalities make numerous restrictions on what can and cannot be done to property (i.e. zoning laws, building codes, etc.) What is the purpose of these measures? Many times, zoning laws make it harder for poor people to own property. For example, some municipalities make minimum lot sizes for a particular property type. These minimum lot sizes effectively maintain a minimum price to purchase a residential lot (or commercial lot, etc.), therefore restricting some low income people from being able to afford to own property.
Next, and perhaps more insidious than zoning laws, are building codes. What is the purpose of building codes? Purportedly, they maintain the integrity of buildings, infrastructure, etc. They supposedly protect from fires, electrical problems, and maintain structural safety. But what effect can they really have? By adding additional, artificial cost to improving structures, they actually reduce incentive to improve a property. Due to this higher cost, property "owners" wait longer to update wiring, improve structural integrity, and even wait longer to add improvements to structures which may be able to enhance the value of or wealth created by a property. In this way it can have the exact opposite effect from the effect intended. Firefighters want laws which require higher standards for electrical wiring on a property. Seemingly, there will be fewer fires and less danger to firefighters. However, as property "owners," particularly those having lower incomes, wait longer to make improvements wiring on a property grows more dilapidated and the danger and likelihood of electrical fires actually increases. Skill unions such as carpenters and electricians want building codes because they seemingly direct more business to them. Do they create more business for the carpenters? Again, the added cost to the property "owner" creates the waiting problem. As an "owner" waits to build home additions or waits to add offices to a commercial property, the net potential volume of business for the carpenters, for the electricians actually decreases, because fewer people at any given time will be improving their property.
As long as a government can forcibly seize property, as long as a government can restrict private behavior on a property, ownership thereof remains strictly nominal.