Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs While many Americans are struggling to get on the property ladder as the U.S. navigates a housing affordability crisis, the country’s richest 1 percent has now amassed enough wealth to be able to buy almost every home in the United States, a new Redfin study shows.The top 1 percent in the U.S.—those with an income of $787,712 and above, according to SmartAsset—had a combined net worth of $49.2 trillion by the end of 2024. The combined value of almost 100 million U.S. homes during the same time was $49.7 trillion.Why It MattersThe ongoing housing affordability crisis has highlighted the growing inequality in the U.S., where the top 1 percent holds almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent, according to a 2023 study by experts at Princeton University.Home prices have skyrocketed over the past five years, driven by pent-up demand and a historic lack of supply in the U.S. housing market—the result of years of underbuilding following the housing crash of 2008. The sudden rise of mortgage rates in 2022 following the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hike campaign exacerbated the affordability crisis, squeezing many aspiring homebuyers out of the market entirely.While the Trump administration has promised to lower the cost of housing, prices are still rising across the country, and mortgage rates are still hovering around the 7 percent mark. As of March 6, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.63 percent, according to Freddie Mac.
An aerial view of luxury homes in the La Jolla neighborhood in San Diego on October 19, 2024.
An aerial view of luxury homes in the La Jolla neighborhood in San Diego on October 19, 2024.
Kevin Carter/Getty Images
What To KnowThe U.S.’s top 1 percent comprises about 1.3 million households, which the Federal Reserve defines as having a minimum net worth of $11.2 million.Data suggests that for these incredibly wealthy Americans, owning a property is not the same crucial investment that it is for many working- and middle-class households in the U.S. According to Redfin, real estate makes up 12.3 percent of the net worth of the top 1 percent, compared to 46.4 percent of the net worth of the bottom 50 percent.Most of their wealth is tied up in financial assets, which have increased at a similar or even quicker pace as home prices over the past 20 years. In recent years, U.S. home values have surged in parallel to the net worth of the top 1 percent, data from Redfin and the Federal Reserve shows, even though the two numbers are not directly related.In 2019, the aggregate U.S. home value was $31.37 trillion. In 2020, it climbed to $35.06 trillion. In 2021, it was up to $41.48 trillion. In 2022, it reached $44.54 trillion. In 2023, it continued climbing to $47.21 trillion, and in 2024, it totaled $49.68 trillion.In the same period, the net worth of the top 1 percent climbed from $33.7 trillion in 2019 to $37.94 trillion in 2020 to $44.01 trillion in 2021. After a brief plunge to $40.45 trillion in 2022, the net worth of the country’s richest residents rebounded to $44.45 trillion in 2023 and increased to $49.24 trillion in 2024.The top 1 percent in the U.S. owns a disproportionate 13.4 percent of all real estate assets in the nation.Real Estate as an AssetAt the end of 2024, the total value of the homes owned by the top 1 percent was $6.5 trillion. Twelve million households earning at least $2.2 million—representing the 90th to 99th percentile—held $14.7 trillion in real estate.The 50th to 90th percentile—comprising 53.2 million U.S. households earning at least $242,500—held $22.2 trillion in real estate. Meanwhile, the bottom 50th percentile—totaling 66.6 million households earning below $242,500—held $4.9 trillion in real estate.Real estate represented 19.8 percent of the net worth for the 90th to 99th percentile, 32.2 percent for the 50th to 90th percentile and 46.4 percent for the bottom 50th percentile—indicating the importance of property ownership to those in the bottom 50 percent who can afford it.The typical American household must earn $118,530 a year to afford the cost of a median U.S. home, according to a recent study by Realtor.com. However, the median household income is about $77,700, suggesting that the typical American household does not earn enough to keep up with mortgage payments.The Redfin findings also show that the top 1 percent is not as burdened by high mortgage rates as other American households as they can afford to pay in cash. The richest 1 percent had a total of mortgage debt of $411.5 billion, compared to $3.1 trillion held by the bottom 50 percent.Out-riching the RichEven among the top 1 percent in the U.S., there are those who can afford more—a lot more. The top 0.1 percent, which comprises 134,000 U.S. households with a minimum net worth of $46.3 million—has a combined net worth of $22.1 trillion.According to Redfin, that’s enough money to buy every home in the 25 most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S.—including in the expensive cities of New York and Los Angeles.The gap between this exclusive bracket and the remaining U.S. households is likely to grow. Over the past two years, the combined wealth of the top 0.1 percent rose by $4.4 trillion, or 24.9 percent.By comparison, the net worth of the bottom 50 percent grew almost three times slower over the same time frame, rising by $306.3 billion, or 8.5 percent.What People Are SayingChen Zhao, the economics research lead at Redfin, said in a statement accompanying the report: “This group [the top 1 percent] is able to watch their real estate assets appreciate without facing mortgage interest payments, as they mainly buy homes with cash.”She added: “It is a striking example of the concentration of wealth in America that the top 1 percent could hypothetically afford to buy every home in the country—without going into debt—while millions of households struggle to buy or hold onto just one. Asset growth, including real estate, has consistently outpaced wage growth in recent decades, increasing the gap between the top and bottom wealth brackets.”What Happens NextWith the exception of a few plunges during global financial crises, the net worth of the top 1 percent in the U.S. has climbed steadily since the 1990s, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows. This trend is expected to continue, and the gap between the country’s wealthiest and poorest is likely to grow.A recent report by the Rand Corporation, a global policy think tank, found that almost $80 trillion in wealth in the U.S. has been redistributed from the bottom 90 percent of Americans to the top 1 percent in the past 50 years.While a majority of experts expected home price growth to slow down across the country throughout 2025, offering some respite to buyers, concern is growing over the potential negative effects of President Donald Trump’s policies on the housing market, which could drive prices up further.
