Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.<\/p>\n
Buying a house used to be a financial milestone. Now it’s basically a wealth supercharger \u2014 and if you ask Realtor.com, that gap has only grown wider.<\/p>\n
According to their 2025 analysis \u2014 which blends Federal Reserve data with current housing market trends \u2014 today’s typical homeowner has a net worth of around $430,000, while renters sit closer to $10,000. That’s a 43-to-1 difference.<\/p>\n
But here’s the thing: those estimates are still anchored in the last official dataset from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances<\/a>, which was conducted in 2022. That report showed the median homeowner’s net worth at $396,200, compared to just $10,400 for renters \u2014 a 38-to-1 difference at the time.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Miss:<\/p>\n The Federal Reserve only runs the SCF every three years, so the 2022 numbers remain the most recent official release. The next full update will arrive in 2026.<\/p>\n Two big forces are at play:<\/p>\n Homeowners don’t just live under a roof \u2014 they build equity. Pay a mortgage for a few years and you own a bigger piece of your home’s value. When prices go up \u2014 as they did strongly in the years before 2022 \u2014 that equity grows even faster. Home equity often makes up 50% or more of a household’s total net worth.<\/p>\n That’s not a small effect. That’s a primary driver of household wealth.<\/p>\n Paying rent doesn’t build equity. You get a place to live, but no ownership stake, no price appreciation, and no asset to leverage for future borrowing or investment. Month after month, renter dollars help someone else build wealth \u2014 not you.<\/p>\n Back in 2019, the homeowner-renter wealth gap was already massive, but less extreme. By 2022, the Fed noted this was the largest three-year jump in median net worth differences in the history of the modern SCF \u2014 more than double the next largest increase on record.<\/p>\n That means homeowner wealth didn’t just grow \u2014 it accelerated, even as broader economic challenges slowed other kinds of saving.<\/p>\n If you can’t buy a traditional home right now, that doesn’t mean all doors are closed. There are steps someone can realistically take to get positioned on the “wealth side” of this chasm:<\/p>\n Save for a down payment, tighten up your credit score, and keep an eye on first\u2011time buyer programs or community loans that reduce upfront costs. Even a modest down payment can unlock years of equity growth.<\/p>\n In some markets, renters can enter agreements where part of the rent goes toward a future purchase price. It’s not right for everyone, and terms vary, but it’s one path toward ownership without immediately qualifying for a mortgage.<\/p>\n You don’t have to own a whole house to benefit from real estate appreciation or rental income. Platforms like Arrived make it possible to invest in real estate with as little as $100<\/a>. Backed by investors including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and others, Arrived lets everyday people buy fractional shares of rental properties and earn passive income from rent and value growth \u2014 all while Arrived handles the tenant, maintenance, and property management logistics.<\/p>\n You don’t become a homeowner by buying a share, but you do get exposure to the same wealth\u2011building engine that’s helping homeowner net worth climb.<\/p>\n Stocks, retirement accounts, and even real estate bonds can help grow your financial base while you prepare for homeownership. Diversification matters \u2014 don’t put all your eggs in one basket.<\/p>\n Not everyone can or wants to own a home. For some, the flexibility of renting is non-negotiable. For others, down payments and debt loads just aren’t doable right now \u2014 and that’s okay.<\/p>\n But the Federal Reserve data makes one thing undeniably clear: homeownership is still one of the most powerful levers for building wealth in the U.S. Those who own homes hold net worth that’s multiples larger than renters’ \u2014 and the gap has widened as home prices climbed faster than incomes and savings could keep up.<\/p>\n That doesn’t mean renters are doomed. But it does mean that understanding the paths into real estate ownership \u2014 traditional and alternative \u2014 might be one of the most financially impactful decisions someone can make today.<\/p>\n See Next:<\/p>\n This article If You Rent, Brace Yourself \u2014 Homeowners Have 43x’s More Wealth And It’s Mostly From One Thing You’re Paying For But Never Get: Equity<\/a> originally appeared on Benzinga.com<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a9 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. 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