The American Dream is alive and thriving, according to a new survey from Realtor.com, which found nearly two out of three Americans (64%) identify homeownership as one of their life goals, while 50% believe homeownership is necessary to achieving long-term wealth.
Laura Eddy, VP Research and Insights for Realtor.com, said, “Home, and land, ownership has been a part of the American Dream for generations, and while current conditions around affordability and the availability of homes make ownership more challenging, many Americans still see that ideal of having a home that belongs to them as a key cornerstone of achieving both the American Dream and creating long-term wealth for themselves and their families.”
Realtor.com’s poll was conducted online November 7-8, 2024, among a national sample of 2201 Adults aged 18 and above. The data was weighted to approximate a target sample of adults in the U.S. based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region.
Generational Differences
A majority of those polled (75%) believe that homeownership is part of the American dream, but that sentiment differs across generations …
- Baby boomers feel the strongest, as 84% see homeownership as an integral part of achieving the American Dream
- 74% of Gen Xer’s see homeownership as part of achieving the American Dream
- 69% of millennials see homeownership as part of achieving the American Dream
- 67% of Gen Zer’s feel that owning a home is a part of the American Dream.
All considered, the desire to own a home is still high, as Americans, particularly millennials (69%) and Gen Z (70%), identify it as a life goal, significantly more than Gen X (62%) and baby boomers (59%), potentially because they aren’t as likely to own their home.
Confidence in Attaining the Dream
As sentiments towards homeownership remain positive, according to the Realtor.com survey, more than half of those surveyed (59%) believe that homeownership is achievable for them. Baby boomers are the most confident when it comes to their ability to buy a home, as 63% felt homeownership is achievable, and, perhaps surprisingly, millennials are the next most likely to consider homeownership achievable (57%), followed by Gen X (55%) and Gen Z (54%).
Interestingly, the age of homebuyers reached an all-time high in 2024. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2024 Profile of Buyers and Sellers, the median age of buyers peaked at 56-years-old, and the typical repeat buyer age is 61-years-old, contributing to the bump in confidence for the eldest generation.
Homeownership as a Contributor to Long-Term Wealth
When it comes to building wealth, millennials (53%) and Gen Z (52%) are more likely than their elders to believe that owning a home is necessary to build long term wealth. In fact, less than half of Gen X (48%) and baby boomers (45%) see homeownership as necessary for building long-term wealth, even though they are more likely to own their current residence. According to the survey, 66% of baby boomers, 54% of Gen X, 43% of millennials and 33% of Gen Z currently own their primary residence.
