Real estate now places second in America’s heart, assuming America’s heart is chiefly interested in the best way to invest money over the long term.

Stocks are now Americans’ favorite way to invest long term, according to a Bankrate survey of 1,007 American adults from June 29 to July 5. Market research firm SSRS conducted the survey on Bankrate’s behalf via phone interviews.

The annual survey, first reported by Yahoo Finance, asked respondents the best way to invest money that you wouldn’t need for more than 10 years. Nearly 28 percent chose stocks, up from 20 percent who chose stocks in 2019. Just over a quarter, 26 percent, chose real estate, down from 31 percent in 2019.

“Despite stocks falling by more than one-third in just over a month at the outset of the pandemic, more Americans point to the stock market as the best place to invest money long-term,” said Greg McBride, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst, in a statement.

“The swift rebounds this spring and following a 20 percent decline at the end of 2018 have convinced more investors of the market’s long-term merits.”

Stocks previously beat out real estate as Americans’ preferred long-term investment in 2018. According to Bankrate’s report that year, real estate had been at the top for four years before that.

In this year’s survey, cash, savings accounts and CDs came in at a somewhat distant third, 18 percent — the lowest level in eight years of polling, according to McBride.

“While cash is the best place to park money for the short term, it is a very poor long-term investment,” he said. “Whether it is falling interest rates or better returns elsewhere, more Americans are getting that message, with fewer citing cash as the best long-term investment than at any time in the past eight years.”

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