And millennials are “higher on real estate than any other age group”
Real estate remained America’s favorite long-term investment option, according to a new Bankrate.com poll.
More than a third (31%) of Americans said that they prefer to put money they wouldn’t need for over ten years into real estate, marking the highest percentage in the poll’s history.
Bankrate.com found that millennials opt to devote their investment on buying a home more than other generations.
“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,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. “Millennials, in particular, should be turning to the stock market for long-term investing, such as retirement.”
The share of people who invest in the stock market followed at 20%, while those who prefer cash investments, including savings account and CDs, came in third at 19%. The remaining 11% chose gold or other precious metals, 7% picked bonds, and 4% selected Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
The inclination to buy real estate was almost the same among all income groups. Households earning an annual salary of $50,000 or more were more than twice more likely to purchase stock than households that have an income below $50,000 per year. Lower-income households would rather invest cash in gold or other precious metals than those with higher income, according to the report.
However, the poll showed that a majority of Americans are still hesitant to invest in the stock market, borrow money, or put money in savings accounts or CDs even with low-interest rates.
“A Fed interest rate cut is unlikely to influence how consumers manage their finances,” McBride said. “Only a minority of Americans say they would save more, invest more, or borrow more as a result. A rate cut or two is certainly not a reason for consumers to panic. The Fed raised rates nine times in a three-year period. If they walk back one or two of those, savers are still far ahead of where they were for much of the past decade.”
