Real estate has long been considered a sound investment option, but a growing number of Americans are placing property value over other traditional financial ventures.
According to Gallup, a new poll found that 41 percent of American’s choose real estate as the best investment, up from 35 percent a year ago. That marks the highest preference for real estate in the 11 years Gallup has asked this question. Gold peaked at 34 percent in 2011, while stocks hit a high of 27 percent in 2019.
On the subject of real estate, in the same poll, Gallup found that Americans generally endorse the idea of buying a home, but only buy a slim majority. Currently, 53 percent say it is a good time to buy a house, a slight improvement from last year’s record low of 50 percent.
For context, Gallup notes that slim majorities also said it was a good time to buy a house in 1978, a time of high inflation and high mortgage interest rates. While a huge majority—81 percent—endorsed home purchases in 2003, when home prices were rising sharply.