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Americans are Investing Real Estate

According to a survey from Bankrate [1], Americans are setting their sights on real estate instead of stocks as a long-term investment. Bankrate surveyed 1,015 people nationwide from June 25 to June 30, 2019, and found that 31% of respondents would invest money they didn’t need for more than ten years in real estate, while 20% would invest in stocks. 

Bankrate states that this is the “best showing” for real estate in seven years. Millennials were among the most likely to invest in real estate, with 36% of millennials stating that they would turn to real estate for a long term investment, compared to 30% of baby boomers, 31% of Generation X, or 23% of the Silent Generation.

“Millennials are higher on real estate than any other age group, have cooled a bit on cash, and still aren’t keen on the stock market when investing for more than ten years,” Greg McBride, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst, said in a statement.

The preference for real estate is virtually identical in all four income categories surveyed by Bankrate. Bankrate’s survey reveals that between 32 and 34% of the time it was the top investment choice for those who reported earning more than $75,000 per year; between $50,000 and $75,000; between $30,000 and $50,000; as well as less than $30,000.

Earlier this year, Gallup released a poll [2] which revealed that 35% of Americans believe real estate to be the superior long-term financial investment, compared to 27% who say stocks are the better investment. 

Stock ownership has not quite reached pre-recession levels, and previous Gallup analysis showed that stock ownership has declined among most major U.S. subgroups since before the recession, with the exception of upper-income and older Americans. Gallup notes that their poll was conducted April 1-9, in the midst of a bull stock market and that with home values higher than they were before the recession, noting the likely returns.