Homeownership Is Still a Wealth-Building Engine
The typical U.S. homeowner is now 43 times wealthier than the average renter. That stat alone explains a huge piece of the American wealth gap. New data from the National Association of Realtors shows the average net worth of homeowners is $430,000, compared to just $10,000 for renters. And that gap has widened a lot in recent years — since 2022, renters' net worth has slipped 3.8% while homeowners’ has climbed 8.5%.
The difference largely comes down to one thing: equity. Home values rose dramatically over the past five years, so homeowners’ wealth grew in the background, giving some the leverage to upgrade or refinance. Renters, meanwhile, faced rising rents, stagnant wages, and increased debt burdens — especially as a larger chunk of their paychecks go to basic expenses.
Even worse, the dream of catching up is slipping further out of reach. Mortgage rates have hovered near 7% since late 2022, and wage growth hasn’t kept pace with home prices. According to a New York Fed survey, the average renter now pegs their odds of ever owning a home at just 33.9%, the lowest level in the past decade.
Coupled with another recent stat, things are looking bleak for would-be home buyers: Just 26% of Americans think it’s a good time to buy a home right now, the lowest number in Gallup polling history — lower than during the 2008 housing crash. Prospective buyers are pessimistic, but it’s because they’re literally locked out of the market. The median home now costs 5.3 times the median household income, up from 3.6x in the 1980s.
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