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19
AMERICANS
CONTINUE TO BET
ON REAL ESTATE
According to a Gallup poll, it's real estate,
not stocks, that are considered to be the best
investment. e poll indicates that 35% of
Americans believe real estate to be the superior
long-term financial investment, compared to
27% who say stocks are the better investment.
Stock ownership has not quite reached pre-
recession levels, and previous Gallup analysis
showed that stock ownership has declined
among most major U.S. subgroups since before
the recession, with the exception of upper-
income and older Americans. Gallup notes
that their poll was conducted April 1-9, in the
midst of a bull stock market and that with
home values higher than they were before the
recession, noting the likely returns.
A 2018 Wells Fargo/Gallup survey
asked U.S. investors with $10,000 or more
in investments a similar question about the
best long-term investment, and respondents
were more optimistic about stock investment,
while just 19% chose real estate as the best
investment. e key difference, Gallup notes,
is that the question wording asked respondents
to exclude their primary home when thinking
of real estate as an investment. is means that
while many Americans see their primary home
as a solid investment, a second home or another
type of real estate investment, such as a rental
property, is not as appealing as stocks are.
For real estate investors, "opportunity
zones" may be the way to go.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development Secretary Benjamin Carson was
recently interviewed on Fox News' e Next
Revolution with Steve Hilton to discuss the
proposed new regulations aimed at making
it easier for investors to take advantage of tax
breaks for investing in "Opportunity Zones" in
low-income areas.
Going forward into 2019, real estate
investment will be about "looking good,"
according to Chris Dunlap, VP and Risk
Services Lead for Hub's National Real Estate
Practice.
"Properties that maintain—or improve—
their standing will be best positioned to keep
costs at bay," Dunlap said. "e proven way to
do this is to invest in tighter risk management,
including disaster preparedness ahead of the
next catastrophic event and engaging your
property policy broker to do what they do
best—negotiate on your behalf."
