Compiled statistics on house hacking, first-time home buying, and small multifamily ownership in the United States, from government, academic, and industry sources, plus original data from the VanToVault twelve-metro own-vs-rent analysis. Last updated July 14, 2026. If you use a figure from this page, a link back here as the source is appreciated.
Key statistics at a glance
- First-time buyers fell to 21% of US home purchases, the lowest share ever recorded, and the median first-time buyer is now 40 years old (NAR, 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers).
- 22.6 million renter households, 50% of all renters, are cost-burdened (spending over 30% of income on housing), and 12.1 million of them spend over half their income (Harvard JCHS, State of the Nation’s Housing 2025).
- The median existing single-family home reached $412,500 in 2024, about five times the median household income, versus the traditional affordability benchmark of three times (Harvard JCHS).
- Affording the median-priced home now takes roughly $126,700 of annual income at a $2,570 monthly payment. Only about 6 million of the nation’s nearly 46 million renter households clear that bar (Harvard JCHS).
- The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.49% as of the week of July 9, 2026 (Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey).
- An FHA loan allows 3.5% down on a two- to four-unit property when the buyer lives in one unit; the stricter FHA self-sufficiency rental test applies only to three- and four-unit properties, not duplexes (HUD Handbook 4000.1).
Original data: what house hacking a duplex saves, by metro
From the VanToVault own-for-less-than-you-rent analysis (2026): in each metro below, buying a modest duplex with an FHA loan at 3.5% down and renting out the second unit costs less per month, all-in, than renting a local one-bedroom. The figure shown is the monthly amount kept by owning instead of renting. Assumptions are conservative: 6.0% rate, 30-year term, taxes, insurance, FHA mortgage insurance, and a $200 monthly maintenance and vacancy reserve included, with the second unit rented 10 to 15 percent below the local one-bedroom median. Five additional metros analyzed (Dayton, Birmingham, Kansas City, Wichita, Little Rock) did not pass this conservative bar and are excluded, so twelve of seventeen metros analyzed favored owning.
| Metro | Kept per month by owning |
|---|---|
| Rochester, NY | $765/mo |
| Syracuse, NY | $700/mo |
| St. Louis, MO | $670/mo |
| Cleveland, OH | $620/mo |
| Youngstown, OH | $430/mo |
| Scranton, PA | $385/mo |
| Milwaukee, WI | $295/mo |
| Buffalo, NY | $285/mo |
| Toledo, OH | $220/mo |
| Detroit, MI | $205/mo |
| Akron, OH | $185/mo |
| Memphis, TN | $170/mo |
How to cite this page
VanToVault, “House Hacking Statistics 2026,” vantovault.com/house-hacking-statistics/. Journalists and researchers are welcome to use the original metro figures with attribution; the full methodology is on the analysis page. For questions or custom cuts of the data, use the contact page.
Free download
Want the playbook behind the numbers?
The free $0-to-First-Property Roadmap lays out the whole path to a first small multifamily, in order. Drop your email below and it is yours.
Get the free $0-to-First-Property Roadmap
The five-stage plan I used to go from living in a van to owning a duplex — no rich parents required. Enter your email and I’ll send it straight to your inbox.
The First-Property Bundle
The step-by-step playbook, the six-calculator deal-analyzer toolkit, and the down-payment-assistance finder — the exact system I used to go from a van to a duplex.
Pay what you want. Name your price — and if money’s tight, take it for less.
Get the bundle →Get the free $0-to-First-Property Roadmap
The five-stage plan I used to go from living in a van to owning a duplex, no rich parents required.