"Real estate is losing its leadership as the best investment; gold is growing"

Survey highlights: most Americans still believe that real estate is a better long-term investment option than gold and stocks. However, interest in real estate has declined over the past year, while faith in gold has increased significantly. At the same time, confidence in stocks and mutual funds is at near decade lows.

Gallup poll

showed that this year, 34% of Americans chose real estate as their top long-term investment option. This is down significantly from last year's record 45%, but is in line with the typical share of real estate choices from 2016 to 2020, before the rise in home prices during the pandemic. Rising interest rates over the past year have reduced the popularity of real estate as an investment.

At the same time, the share of Americans who believe gold is the best investment has nearly doubled, rising from 15% in 2022 to 26% today. As a result, gold has overtaken stocks to take second place. Stocks and mutual funds are now chosen by just 18% of Americans, the lowest in a decade.

This Gallup poll has been conducted annually among Americans since 2011 to find out their preferences for long-term investments.

It is important to note that belief in specific investments can change depending on short-term changes in their performance. When real estate or stock prices are high, they become more popular as investments, and vice versa when they fall. Gold, on the other hand, usually becomes the preferred option when confidence in real estate and stocks declines. Bonds and savings in an account or term deposit also remain popular options for saving money, but not for capital growth.