For the 14th straight year, Americans have named real estate as the #1 long-term investment.
Gallup’s 2026 survey on long-term investing found 38% of Americans ranking it at the top.
If you’ve been fielding client questions about crypto volatility, gold’s recent run, or the rough year stocks have had (and continue to have), this data offers a look into what consumers think about long term investments.
Here is what the 2026 numbers show and how the streak behind them took shape.
The 2026 Rankings
Gallup asks Americans the same question every year: which investment is the best over the long run? The 2026 results follow the pattern seen for over a decade, with real estate holding a wide lead over every other option.
- Real estate: 38%
- Stocks/mutual funds: 20%
- Gold: 18%
- Savings accounts/CDs: 12%
- Bonds: 4%
- Cryptocurrency: 2%
Two changes stand out from last year. Stocks rose from 16% in 2025 to 20% in 2026, and gold fell from its 2023 high of 25% to 18% this year.
Real estate held its position through both moves.
A Streak That Started in 2013
Real estate has led this poll every year since 2013, a run of 14 consecutive years. That kind of consistency is rare in an annual survey tracking public sentiment on money.
The streak has broken twice since Gallup began tracking the question.
- 2008 to 2009: Savings accounts and CDs led during the financial crisis, 31% to 26% in September 2008 and 34% to 33% in April 2009.
- 2011 to 2012: Gold led both years, 34% to 19% in 2011 and 28% to 20% in 2012.
Real estate reclaimed the top spot in 2013 and has held it every year since.
What Stock Owners Themselves Say
One of the more telling data points comes from Gallup’s breakdown by investment status. In the most recent year this cut of the data was available, stock owners ranked real estate above their own stock holdings.
- Stock owners (2023): real estate 36%, stocks/mutual funds 25%.
This detail stands out because it shows the preference for real estate is not limited to people without market exposure.
Real estate’s position at the top of this poll is a pattern that has outlasted a financial crisis and a multi-year gold rally. It’s also held through a stretch of stock market swings.
Whether next year’s survey extends the streak to 15 years or marks the next exception, agents now have a clean, current data point to reference when clients ask how real estate stacks up against other long-term investments.
What About All the Doomers?
Scroll any real estate feed, and you’ll see the opposite of this data. Crash calls, scary headlines, and some version of “just wait.” The Broke Agent recently called it out:
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While doomers are loud, the Gallup polls shows that 38% of Americans just named real estate their #1 long-term investment for the 14th year straight.
When a client brings up a crash they saw online, you don’t have to argue the headline or sound like a desperate salesperson. Point to the sentiment.
Here’s a sample script:
“Can I share something? The people predicting crashes have been saying it for years. Meanwhile, Gallup just polled Americans and 38% named real estate their top long-term investment, for the 14th year straight. Even stock owners ranked real estate above their own holdings. I’m not here to argue the internet. I just want to make sure you’re making decisions based on data, not doomscrolling. Does that feel fair?”
In short, consumers themselves are keeping real estate spot at the top of this poll year after year.
Whether next year’s survey extends the streak to 15 or marks the next exception, you’ve got a current, verifiable number to reach for when a client asks how real estate stacks up.
Want Help Having Conversations Like This?
Having the right data is one thing. Knowing how to use it in a real conversation is another.
The sample script above came from the BAMx AI Script Advisor, which helps agents navigate difficult client conversations. It’s trained on frameworks and scripts from Byron Lazine, Lisa Chinatti, Tom Toole, active team leaders with teams that are using these frameworks in today’s market.
As BAMx member Lydia recently shared, the BAMx AI Script Advisor “was a huge help navigating a touchy conversation about Buyer Agent Compensation….Not only did it give me good language that was on par with how I typically interact with my client, but it also gave me the confidence to handle the conversation in a way that really helped showcase the value I had already provided.”
Whether you’re talking about buyer compensation, a price reduction, commission objections, or simply helping clients cut through the doom-and-gloom headlines, having the right words matters. Sometimes one conversation can be worth far more than the cost of the tool.
Learn more about BAMx and the AI Script Advisor here.
