Americans No Longer See Real Estate As Top Investment Choice

For the first time in four years, Americans do not see real estate as the best way to invest their money. Stocks and cash investments are now the top two investment choices, according to a new Bankrate survey.

Breaking out the data, 32 percent of respondents favored stocks, 24 percent preferred cash investments, and only 22 percent say real estate is the best for investing. Bankrate Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride says, "For investment horizons of longer than 10 years, the stock market is an entirely appropriate investment. Cash is not, and especially if you’re not seeking out the most competitive returns.” The consumer financial services company explains that the current "slump" in real estate is part of why Americans are pulling back from such investments; existing home sales, new home construction, and mortgage applications have all been declining of late, HousingWire reports.

The decrease in Americans who want to invest in real estate cause also be a result of many Millennials losing hope in, have lost hope in or don't want the traditional American Dream. A recently study by Bank of the West shows only 54 percent of Millennials believe the American Dream is attainable, and nearly 25 percent say they’ve given up their dream of homeownership. Other investments Americans mentioned included gold and precious metals, which 9 percent of Americans prefer, another 8 percent prefer bonds and just 2 percent said they prefer to invest in bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

Read more