Real Estate Lands No. 1

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

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The voice of the world in numbers

May 13, 2025

Welcome to Front Page, where we break down Gallup's latest insights on our constantly evolving world. Here are the four insights you shouldn't miss this week:

1. Real Estate Lands No. 1

Line chart: Americans' Perceptions of the Best Long-Term Investment.

The Data: Thirty-seven percent of Americans name real estate as the best long-term investment, leading for the 12^th consecutive year.

Stocks Slip, Gold Gains: Stocks' appeal dropped to 16%, while gold jumped to 23% — easily overtaking stocks for the second time in the past decade.

Bar chart: Americans' Sources of Financial Information and Advice.

The Data: Americans are most likely to turn to friends and family (43%) and professional advisers (41%) for financial information. Both human sources edge out financial websites (36%).

What's Missing: New media sources of financial guidance match old media in reach, with 20% each saying they turn to podcasts/webinars, social media, books, or TV or radio programs.

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3. The Price Isn't Right

Line chart: OECD Housing Crisis Stands Out Relative to Other Services.

The Data: Despite a slight recovery last year, satisfaction with housing affordability has dropped by over 10 percentage points across OECD countries since 2010 and was the only aspect of local services not to receive a median satisfaction rating above 50% in 2024. Türkiye (13%), Australia (22%), Canada (22%), the Netherlands (30%) and the United States (36%) recorded the lowest satisfaction levels in 2024, compared with their long-term averages.

The Outlier: Unlike housing, satisfaction with schools, roads and public transit has remained broadly stable since 2010.

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4. Remote Workers Win at Work, Not at Life

Grouped bar chart: Remote Workers Are More Engaged, Less Likely to Be Thriving.

The Data: Globally, 31% of fully remote workers are engaged at work — higher than their hybrid (23%) and on-site counterparts (19% to 23%).

Why It Matters: Engagement links directly to productivity, and remote workers may enjoy more autonomy and fewer distractions. But they are also more likely to experience anger, sadness and loneliness.

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