Things are trickier for a renter looking to buy a home, because of rising mortgage rates. But middle-income families typically have minimal direct exposure to the stock market. Their financial holdings tend to be modest at best, meaning that rising stock prices create only a small wealth increase. Among middle-income families in 2016, only 52 percent held stocks either directly or indirectly, such as through a mutual fund. And of those 52 percent, median stock holdings were only $15,000.

Source: New York Times November 03, 2018 11:00 UTC