Mortgage Watch | September 16, 2019

Real estate still rules as safest long-term retirement investment in new survey

When 2,000 Americans are asked their opinion about investing and a large chunk of them agree, it’s something worthy of note. According to a study done by the online magazine Sophisticated Investor, a cyber-publication dedicated to providing insight and analysis on a variety of investment topics to investors worldwide, real estate won out as the safest investment.

The group, aged between 35 and 65+, examined a number of investment options they consider to be the safest for long-term retirement investing, including real estate, stocks & bonds, bank savings accounts, fixed annuities, precious metals and U.S.-backed securities. The survey found that 22.4% of all respondents selected real estate as the safest long-term investment for retirement with a higher percentage resulting from the 45-54-year-old group (25.1%). A press release by Newswire about the study says, “Given the current turbulent state of the financial markets and the global economy, the average American investor seems to be leaning towards more secure long-term investment options for retirement and real estate is currently viewed as the top choice in that regard.”

A spokesperson for Sophisticated Investor goes on to say, “Real Estate has come a long way since the last financial crisis where confidence in this asset class hit rock bottom. The real estate markets have been showing consistent positive results all over the country, and that could explain why Americans have such a positive outlook on this asset class.”

Stocks & bonds came in second at 18% and interestingly enough, when demographic filters were applied to the survey results, factoring young investors, between 35 and 44-years-old, 19.5% indicated this investment option was the safest with an even larger share of them being females. Gold and silver bullion garnered only 10.6%, yet when demographics filters were applied, males were the largest group voting for these metals as the safest long-term investment for retirement. Precious metals are usually considered safest during times of economic crises.

Bringing up the rear was U.S. Treasury issued securities at 9% — surprising in that these have long been the bastion of safety and security amid the turbulence of financial markets.

Source: PRNewsire, TBWS

Rates Currently Trending: Neutral

Mortgage rates are trending sideways this morning. Last week the MBS market worsened by -132 bps. This was enough to move rates higher last week. We saw high rate volatility throughout the week, especially Friday.

 

 

About the Author

Tim Morissette, also known in the community as Mr. Foothill Ranch, offers over 46 years of real estate experience which has given him an established reputation and unmatched market knowledge. He is joined by his wife, Michele and sons Matt and Jeff, as they continue to offer personal service with an emphasis on achieving his clients’ real estate goals.  This unique combination of traits has led to his proven track record of referral and repeat business. This can be witnessed by the trust of homeowners in Foothill Ranch where he has sold twice as many homes and represented three times more buyers than the next-leading real estate agent for the last 26 years.

As residents of Foothill Ranch since 1994, Tim and Michele are actively involved in the community by fundraising for Foothill Ranch Library, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Cancer Society, Homes for Habitat, Relay for Life, South County Outreach, and the local church and schools. Tim enjoys sponsoring community-wide garage sales, paper shredding and e-waste recycling event, an Easter egg hunt, & a Meet Santa Event.

Tim and Michele are dedicated to their family of four sons, daughter-in-laws, and grandchildren. As a family, they enjoy many outdoor activities which include camping, spearfishing, mountain climbing and exploring the miles of hiking and equestrian trails in Foothill Ranch and the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park. Tim and his sons are also avid snowboarders and enjoy mountain biking and lobster diving. Family is a top priority in the Morissette household. They look forward to helping more families achieve their dreams of homeownership.