NEW YORK, July 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Real estate is Americans' favorite long-term investment, according to a new Bankrate.com report. When asked the best way to invest money not needed for more than 10 years, 28% of U.S. adults replied real estate, 23% picked cash investments, 17% favored the stock market, 15% went with gold/other precious metals and 4% said bonds. Click here for more information:

http://www.bankrate.com/investing/financial-security-0717/

This is the fifth consecutive summer the survey was conducted and the third straight time that real estate came out on top (cash led the way the first two years). The stock market has never placed higher than third, which is particularly surprising because the S&P 500 is up more than 50% since the question was first asked in July 2013 and 16% since last year's poll. These figures do not include dividends, which can add substantially to an investor's return over time, especially when reinvested.

"We've begun to see rising yields on savings accounts," said Mark Hamrick, Bankrate.com's senior economic analyst. "However, the preferences for cash and real estate indicate that too many people are leaving money on the virtual table by failing to be sufficiently exposed to the stock market, where higher long-term returns are found. This is especially the case for younger investors, who are in the best position to weather the inevitable short-term market volatility."

Republicans and households with annual incomes of $75,000 or more were the only demographic groups to select stocks as their preferred long-term investments. Strangely, Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation were more likely to choose stocks than millennials and Gen Xers.

The Bankrate.com Financial Security Index dipped slightly from June's record level of 106.7, but at 105.3, it's still the third-best reading since the Index debuted in Dec. 2010. Four of the five components have improved from 12 months ago (job security, comfort level with debt, net worth and overall financial situation). Americans are feeling slightly worse about their savings relative to last year.

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,002 adults living in the continental United States. Interviews were conducted by landline (501) and cell phone (501, including 321 without a landline phone) in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source from July 6-9, 2017. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

About Bankrate.com:

Bankrate.com provides consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life's financial journey. For over two decades, Bankrate.com has been a leading personal finance destination. The company offers award-winning editorial content, competitive rate information, and calculators and tools across multiple categories, including mortgages, deposits, credit cards, retirement, automobile loans and taxes. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of over 600 local markets, Bankrate generates rate tables in all 50 U.S. states. Bankrate develops and provides web services to more than 100 cobranded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the internet, such as Comcast, Yahoo!, CNBC and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to more than 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.

For more information:

Ted Rossman
Public Relations Director
ted.rossman@bankrate.com
917-368-8635

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/real-estate-is-americans-favorite-long-term-investment-300490165.html

SOURCE Bankrate.com