Quick gut check. Which investment do Americans trust more than stocks, gold, savings accounts, and bonds? Most people guess wrong, and the real answer hasn’t budged in 14 years: it’s real estate. Not the flashy thing your coworker won’t stop talking about at lunch. The house.
As someone who has sold real estate since 2003 and put my own money into it as an investor, that doesn’t surprise me one bit. Here are the four reasons it keeps earning the top spot, and why confidence is climbing again right now.
1. It has won for 14 years straight
Every year, Gallup asks Americans to name the best long-term investment. For the 14th year running, real estate came out on top, ahead of stocks, gold, and everything else. That’s not a hot streak, that’s 14 straight years.
Think about everything packed into that stretch: rising rates, wild market swings, a pandemic, one election year after another. Through all of it, people kept choosing real estate. As Michelle Egan of JPMorgan Chase put it, a home is “a valuable asset that can appreciate over time, build equity, and serve as a financial resource for generations.” I’ve watched that play out for clients I helped buy a first place 15 or 20 years ago. The equity they’ve built since has been life-changing.
2. Over time, values keep climbing
I hear the worry constantly right now, usually from someone who saw a scary headline: “But aren’t prices falling?” So let me clear it up. Nationally, home prices are still rising, just at a slower, calmer pace than the frenzy of a few years ago.
Yes, some local markets are seeing small dips. Here in Puget Sound, our June median eased about 3% from a year ago. But that little dip is tiny next to how much home values have grown over the past five years. Zoom out and the line still points up and to the right. Real estate is a long game, and if you plan to actually live in the place for a good stretch, a single soft year is noise, not the story.
3. More people are choosing buying over renting again
Here’s the shift I find genuinely interesting. According to Bank of America’s latest Homebuyer Insights Report, 53% of people now say it’s better to buy a home than to rent or move in with family. That’s the first time buying has taken the lead since 2023.
And the confidence numbers jumped fast. In that same report, 90% of people said a home is a valuable investment, up from 79% just a year earlier, and 94% said owning a home provides stability, up from 83% the year before. Those are big moves in a short window. When that many people shift how they feel this quickly, I pay attention, and so should you.
4. It pays you back in more than money
I won’t pretend affordability isn’t tight, especially in a market like ours. It is. But that hasn’t changed how people feel about owning a home, and the reason is simple: a home isn’t only a financial decision. It’s a lifestyle one.
A house pays you back in ways a brokerage account never can. Redfin economist Sheharyar Bokhari said it well: a home helps people “put down roots, build relationships and create a space that feels uniquely their own.” You can’t paint the walls of a mutual fund or host Thanksgiving in your 401(k). Real estate is the one investment that grows your wealth and gives you a place to build your actual life at the same time. In 23 years, that’s the part I’ve never seen a spreadsheet fully capture.
The bottom line
Fourteen years of data and a wave of rising confidence all point the same direction. But the only market that matters is yours, and the only timeline that matters is yours. If you’ve been wondering whether buying is worth it, or what that first step even looks like, let’s connect and talk it through, no pressure. Reach me and the team anytime at [email protected].
Rebecca “Reba” Haas has been helping people buy, sell, and invest across the Seattle area and greater Puget Sound since 2003. She leads Team Reba at RE/MAX Metro Eastside.
Sources: Gallup annual survey on best long-term investment; Bank of America Homebuyer Insights Report; JPMorgan Chase; Redfin. This article is general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice; consult a professional about your specific situation.
