Two-thirds of Americans (66%) think buying a home is the best investment most families can make, despite the recent meltdown of the U.S. housing market. Just 19% disagree.

Forty-four percent (44%) also say it’s a good idea for most Americans to invest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Thirty-one percent (31%) don’t think it’s a good idea, and 24% are undecided (see crosstabs).

Just 18% expect the stock market to go up between now and Election Day in early November. Thirty-four percent (34%) think it will go down, and a similar number (32%) expect it to remain about the same.
The findings – from surveys Sunday and Monday nights – come as Congress is wrestling with a proposed $700 billion taxpayer-financed plan to stabilize the increasingly troubled U.S. economy.

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Eighty percent (80%) say they are following news stories about Wall Street’s troubles and the rescue plan at least somewhat closely, with 44% saying they are following Very Closely.

In a separate survey released yesterday, Rasmussen Reports found that opposition to the plan is growing the more voters find out about it. Now 44% oppose it, while 25% support it.

Sixty percent (60%) of Americans also now believe the U.S. economy is not fundamentally sound, and voters are evenly divided on whether any laws passed by Congress will make things better.

Americans nationwide have said consistently all year that economic issues are their number one concern in this election.

Voters trust McCain slightly more than Obama on the economy , but they give Democrats as a group the edge over Republicans in the handling of economic issues.

While Americans across gender, race, income and party lines agree by sizable majorities on the financial wisdom of buying a home, the response to buying into the stock market is far more varied.
Men think investing in the market is a good idea by a 54% to 28% margin. Women are almost evenly divided on whether it’s a good idea or a bad one.

Over half of Republicans (56%) favor investing in the market compared to 46% of unaffiliated voters and just 33% of Democrats.

Women and men under age 40 are more confident about investing than those older than 40. Fifty-five percent (55%) of those age 18-29, for example, think investing is a good idea versus 34% of those 65 and older.

Forty-eight percent (48%) of married adults favor investing, but unmarried adults are evenly divided on the wisdom of investment. Similarly, 48% of whites believe investing in the market is a good idea, but only 29% of African-Americans agree.

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