Half of Young Homebuyers Want This in a New Home

For many generations, folks have looked at their homes as a refuge. But today’s younger homebuyers want something more from their humble abode.

More than half of millennials and members of Generation Z want the home they buy to provide them with the opportunity to make rental income, according to a recent Zillow survey.

Renting out part or all of a home for additional income has become known as “house hacking.”

In the survey, millennials (55%) and members of Generation Z (51%) were more likely than older generations to say it is “very” or “extremely” important for them to be able to rent out part of their home while they live in it.

Among all homebuyers, 39% felt that way, which is a jump of 8 percentage points over the past two years.

In addition, 59% of millennials and 54% of members of Generation Z said it is important that they are able to rent out their entire home at some point in the future.

Among all homebuyers, 43% felt the same way.

In a summary of the findings, Zillow senior population scientist Manny Garcia says:

“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.”

Zillow found that 51% of all Hispanic homebuyers said it is “very” or “extremely” important to be able to rent out part of their home for extra income while living in it, the highest percentage of any racial or ethnic group surveyed. That was followed by 46% of Black homebuyers.

In late 2022, Money Talks News founder Stacy Johnson reflected on how house hacking can be a powerful tool for those seeking to build wealth. You can hear more of this thoughts in “How to Reach for Financial Freedom with House Hacking.”

You can also learn more about this technique in “4 Tips to Start House Hacking.”