Why renting a home may be better than buying

Is it time we rethink the American Dream?

Property value.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

It's drilled into us from an early age: Buying a home is the first big step to building wealth. But is this version of fulfilling the American Dream always the best move?

Not necessarily. It's true that homeowners on average have more money than renters, but typically it's not the houses that made them rich. If your main goal is building wealth, it's better, on average, to rent a home than to buy one, according to a recent study by faculty at Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, and the University of Wyoming.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.