When it comes to investments, Real Estate is No. 1
After years of struggling with bad news, Gallup just conducted a poll which should be taped to the proverbial refrigerator of every real estate broker and agent.
In a survey conducted in April, Americans said they consider real estate to the be best place for them to invest their money.
It was followed by Gold, Stocks/Mutual Funds, Savings Accounts and then lowly Bonds.
The data in this survey has tremendous implications for brokers to use, combined with hyper-local real estate data provided by such companies as Home Junction and its geo-spatial platform SpatialMatch.
First, it’s great news. It puts Real Estate back on top where it belongs when it comes to where people should put their hard-earned money.
Yea, gold can be great. But who the heck knows how and when to invest in gold? Gold is as fickle as the Kardashians when they choose their husbands.
Stocks and Mutual Funds – they move like playground swings and the people who claim to know how to predict the market have about as much chance as a second grader when it comes to actually getting it right.
Savings Accounts – who gets excited nowadays over a .75% interest rate?
Bonds? Same thing, yields are so low you would think bond salesmen would be embarrassed even to mention them.
No. Real estate is No. 1. And it’s number one for a reason – people understand it. They get it. There’s not much of a mystery to it – you buy a house, it generally goes up in value.
You improve your house, it goes up in value.
You live near a school, a major highway, or within walking distance of a cool downtown, your house is going to go up in value.
But according to the study, there are certain groups that are less enamored with real estate.
For example, 38% of people surveyed who make more than $75,000, picked Real Estate as the top investment. That’s probably because they’ve had a positive experience and return with Real Estate.
Of people who make from $30k to $74k, only 26% picked Real Estate.
For those who make less than $30k, 28% pegged Real Estate at No. 1.
Brokers and agents can use this study to show how those with money know Real Estate is the best way to make money.
And with Market Trend data from Home Junction, brokers and agents can show how the prices of homes in their area have trended over the past few years and where investing in real estate is obviously paying off.
Here’s another interesting statistic.
When it comes to age, there is a big difference of opinion.
For people aged 18-29, 25% picked Real Estate as number one followed by Gold.
People aged 31-49 where more enthusiastic as 34% of picked Real Estate first.
In the 50-64 age bracket, 30% chose Real Estate.
Over 65, that group had 31% who believe in Real Estate.
So obviously, there’s a bit of education needed for younger buyers. Perhaps these younger buyers are still stuck on the tremendous drops in home values experienced during the Great Recession and are still skeptical.
But with the right hyper-local data, a broker or agent can dispel this notion and get people back on the home value track.
Sure, gold is shiny. Stocks like Apple are sexy.
But, there’s nothing more convincing than pulling up a house on MLS, showing the recent Market Trend data on home values in that area, and then pointing out all the nearby amenities like schools and parks, that are going to keep that investment in a home a solid investment.
And then driving to that investment and walking around in it.
Gold can crash in a day. Stocks can plummet overnight. But real estate is real, tangible. And now you have the data to back it up.
