Real Estate Better Than Stocks
Despite recent gains in the stock market, Americans have more confidence investing in real estate. About a quarter of Americans surveyed said real estate was their top choice for long-term investing, according to a new national survey released by Bankrate.
Consumers selected real estate as the top pick to invest money they wouldn’t need for more than 10 years, followed by cash investments (e.g. certificates of deposit and savings accounts). Then, coming in a distant third was the stock market.
“Houses are tangible,” says Sterling White, co-founder of Holdfolio, a real estate investment firm. “You can physically see and feel the product. So you know where your money is going: It’s going into that house. With stocks, you have no clue where your money is going.”
The millennial generation was the only group that valued cash investments above other choices (32 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 35 and 43 percent of 18 to 25 year olds selected cash as their top choice) by a large margin.
It’s concerning “that so many people think that’s such a good investment for such a long period of time,” says Avani Ramnani, a financial planner and director of financial planning and wealth management at Francis Financial. “Right now, especially, you’re getting practically no interest from cash investments like savings accounts and CDs.”
Americans are feeling more bullish about their sense of financial well-being, according to the Bankrate Financial Security Index, which is based on survey questions of how consumers feel about their debt, savings, net worth, and job security.
Source: “Real Estate Top Investing Choice, Survey Finds,” RISMedia (July 24, 2016)
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