As housing prices increase across the US, more Americans are regaining faith in real estate as the top choice for long-term investments, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Gallup’s April 3-6 Economy and Personal Finances poll asked Americans to choose the best option for long-term investments: real estate, stocks and mutual funds, gold, savings accounts and CDs, or bonds. Nearly one-third of Americans said real estate was the best long-term investment to have, with gold and stocks coming in second (tied at 24%). The number of American opting for real estate is markedly greater than three years ago, when only 19% of Americans said real estate.
“This year, the housing market has been improving across the U.S., and home prices have recently been rising after a steep drop in 2007 during the subprime mortgage crisis,” noted Gallup. “This current improvement in prices may be why more Americans now consider real estate the best option for long-term investments.”
Of note, during the real estate boom in 2002, half of Americans said real estate was the best investment choice. This, however, was prior to the economic downturn and mortgage crisis and before gold was offered as an option in the poll.
Read more about the poll here.
