In today’s sharing economy, recent homebuyers are overwhelmingly open to using their home as a way to generate income and offset expenses. Realtor.com®‘s latest survey found that while many owners are using traditional methods such as taking on a roommate, some are also employing more creative tactics when it comes to generating income from their home, such as renting out their outdoor space or parking spot.
“As the next generation of home buyers has embraced ridesharing and short-term rentals, it’s a natural next step that they begin to think of their biggest asset — their home — as a potential income stream,” said George Ratiu, manager of economic research, Realtor.com®. “For people looking to take advantage of the sharing economy, in addition to traditional approaches it may be worthwhile to explore creative solutions, such as listing your home as a vacation rental when you leave town, or renting your outdoor space or pool. Even a small amount of income each month can multiply over a year or more and can turn into bigger returns.
The survey of 3,026 consumers, which was conducted online by HarrisX in July 2021, found that:
Creative rental solutions that consumers have employed include:
Consumers said that the biggest reason to rent out part or all of their home was:
Rental preferences among homeowners include:
“It is important to keep in mind that while today’s sharing economy may make it sound easy to make rental income off of your home, there are many factors to consider before taking the leap. You should familiarize yourself with tenant rights in your state and locality, and understand any community restrictions. Along with those, making sure that renters have been properly vetted and that home insurance will cover any potential damage, are additional things to look into before inviting renters into your home,” said Ratiu.
Methodology: Realtor.com® commissioned HarrisX to conduct a national survey of consumers. The total sample size was 3,026 adults. The survey was carried out online from July 21-23, 2021. The sampling margin of error of this poll is ±1.8 percentage points. The figures represent a national view of U.S. adults. Results were weighted for age, gender, region, race/ethnicity, and income where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population.
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