Younger Buyers Expressing Greater Interest In 'House Hacking'

There is a growing trend among younger homebuyers – the pursuit of a property that enables them to engage in “house hacking,” a new phrase for renting out part or all of the residence for extra cash.

According to a new survey by Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z, ZG), most millennial (55%) and Gen Z (51%) buyers consider it to be either very or extremely important to have the opportunity to rent out part of their home for extra income while living in it. In comparison, 39% of all homebuyers share that sentiment – which is up eight percentage points in the past two years. Furthermore, 59% of millennials and 54% of Gen Z said was highly important to be able to rent out the entire home in the future, compared to 43% of all buyers.

Among specific demographics, 51% of Hispanic buyers expressed interest in renting a portion of the home for additional income while residing in it, compared to 46% of Black buyers and 40% of White buyers.

“Younger homebuyers — mostly Gen Z and Millennials — are especially into the idea of rental income as a key factor in their home-buying decisions,” said Zillow senior population scientist Manny Garcia. “For those first-time buyers navigating the ‘side hustle culture,’ where a regular 9-to-5 might not quite cut it for homeownership dreams, rental income can step in to help with mortgage qualification and smoothing out those monthly payments.”