Housing affordability has become one of the biggest challenges facing buyers across the country.
But it’s also causing people to rethink what buying a first home is supposed to look like.
Instead of stretching to buy a traditional single-family home, more buyers are considering house hacking: buying a duplex, triplex or four-family property, living in one unit and renting out the others.
And according to a recent LoopNet analysis highlighted by the Cincinnati Business Courier, Cincinnati ranks as the No. 2 market in the country for house hacking. Pasted text
That ranking makes a lot of sense to me.
My wife and I used this strategy ourselves early in our marriage, and I think the combination of Cincinnati’s relatively affordable housing, strong rental demand and existing stock of multifamily properties makes this one of the more interesting opportunities in our market right now.
What Is House Hacking?
At its simplest, house hacking means finding a way for somebody else to help pay your housing costs.
The classic version is buying a duplex, triplex or fourplex. You live in one unit and rent out the others.
Because you’re living in the property yourself, you may also have access to owner-occupant financing rather than financing it strictly as an investment property.
That can dramatically change the numbers.
Instead of saving a large investor down payment and then paying your entire mortgage yourself, you could potentially put less money down while having one, two or three tenants contributing rent every month.
But house hacking doesn’t have to mean buying a multifamily property.
You could buy a single-family house and rent bedrooms to roommates. You could have a separate floor or walkout basement. There are a lot of ways to structure it.
The basic idea is the same:
You own the asset while somebody else helps you pay for it.
Why Cincinnati Works So Well for House Hacking
The Midwest dominated LoopNet’s rankings, with Indianapolis coming in first and Cincinnati second.
One of Cincinnati’s biggest advantages was financing accessibility. Pasted text
And that’s really where the Cincinnati story gets interesting.
Home prices here have risen significantly, but compared with many major U.S. metros, Cincinnati remains relatively affordable.
At the same time, rental demand remains strong.
That creates a pretty attractive relationship between what you have to pay for a property and what you can potentially collect in rent.
That is exactly what you want to see as an investor—or as a first-time buyer trying to get creative.
The Business Courier article also cited a local property manager who said roughly 80% of the multifamily properties his company had sold over the previous 60 days went to owner-occupants.
That’s a remarkable number.
People are figuring this out.
Instead of saying:
“I can’t afford the $450,000 single-family house I really want.”
They’re asking:
“What if I buy a duplex for $300,000 or $350,000 and let the tenant next door help pay the mortgage?”
For the right person, that can completely change the economics of becoming a homeowner.
This Is How My Wife and I Got Started
This isn’t just something I’ve read about.
My wife and I essentially house hacked for much of the first decade of our marriage.
Our first version wasn’t even a duplex.
We owned a house in Anderson Township while we were volunteering with Young Life, and another young married couple from our ministry team lived in the house with us.
They paid us rent.
We shared a kitchen. We had different areas of the house. It wasn’t glamorous, but every month somebody else was helping us make our housing payment.
Later, we moved to Fort Thomas and bought an actual duplex.
We lived in one side and rented the other.
At the time, the rent from the neighboring unit covered most or essentially all of our mortgage payment.
We eventually moved out, rented both sides, and we still own that property today. Pasted text
That property became part of our long-term wealth-building journey.
The tenants paid down the loan.
The property appreciated.
It produced some cash flow.
And over time, what started as a relatively small decision became an asset we’ve now owned for about 15 years.
There were also seasons early in our marriage when income was tight. Having that real estate producing income—even if it wasn’t some massive amount of money—gave us another layer of financial stability.
That experience is probably why I get so excited when a younger buyer tells me they’re open to a duplex.
You Don’t Need Your Dream House at 25
One of the biggest obstacles to house hacking might not actually be financial.
It might be Instagram.
We live in a culture where a 25-year-old looks at somebody’s fully renovated 4,000-square-foot house online and thinks:
“That’s what my first home is supposed to look like.”
It isn’t.
If you’re young, flexible and willing to live in an 800- or 900-square-foot unit for a few years while somebody next door pays a large part of your mortgage, that can put you years ahead financially.
You may give up some space today.
But in exchange, you’re building equity, gaining experience as a homeowner and landlord, and potentially creating an asset you can keep for decades.
That tradeoff can be incredibly powerful.
There Are Real Opportunities on Both Sides of the River
During the live, I pulled up actual multifamily inventory in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
There were duplex opportunities in the $200,000s, $300,000s and $400,000s, depending on the neighborhood, condition and number of units.
Areas like Covington, Newport and Latonia still have a significant supply of older two- to four-family buildings.
On the Cincinnati side, you’ll find opportunities scattered through a long list of city neighborhoods as well.
Some of these properties date to the late 1800s and early 1900s, which means buyers have to pay attention to condition, mechanical systems, roofs, plumbing and other major expenses.
But you also have properties that have already been renovated and stabilized.
One example we looked at during the live was an updated duplex in Northern Kentucky where the basic math showed just how powerful the concept can be: live in one unit and collect rent on the other, potentially cutting your effective monthly housing expense substantially.
The exact numbers will vary from property to property, but the concept is worth exploring.
Cincinnati’s “Connected Communities” Could Make This Even More Interesting
There’s another piece of this I’d be watching carefully.
Cincinnati has been encouraging more middle housing—duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and other housing types between traditional single-family homes and large apartment buildings.
If I were specifically investing or house hacking inside the city, I’d pay close attention to where Cincinnati’s Connected Communities transportation corridors and future development are concentrated.
My theory is simple:
Transportation investment tends to attract more housing and development.
More development can create stronger demand.
And over time, that may help support appreciation.
That doesn’t mean every property along a bus corridor is automatically a great investment.
But I would absolutely factor future infrastructure and zoning into where I buy.
I also think we could see more new-construction middle housing over the coming years rather than relying entirely on Cincinnati’s existing stock of 100-year-old duplexes and four-family buildings. Pasted text
That could create an entirely different house-hacking option for buyers who love the financial concept but don’t necessarily want to maintain a building constructed in 1895.
The Catch: You’re Becoming a Landlord
House hacking isn’t free money.
You’re still buying real estate.
Things break.
Tenants move.
Units become vacant.
You may need to screen renters, collect rent, deal with repairs and occasionally have difficult conversations.
You also need to make sure the property works financially rather than assuming appreciation will bail you out.
That was much easier to get away with during the ultra-low-rate, rapidly appreciating market of 2020 and 2021.
Today, buyers have to be more selective.
But becoming a landlord also isn’t nearly as intimidating as many people imagine.
There are better screening tools, property-management software, contractors and professional resources available than ever before.
And if you build the right team around you, you don’t have to figure everything out alone.
Buyers Are Gaining More Leverage Nationwide
The other major housing story right now is seller concessions.
Nationally, sellers offered concessions in 44.7% of home sales in August, according to the data discussed during the live. Pasted text
Some Sun Belt markets are dramatically higher.
That can include things like:
- seller-paid closing costs,
- interest-rate buydowns,
- repair credits,
- home warranties,
- or other negotiated incentives.
Inventory is increasing in many markets, homes are taking longer to sell and buyers have more options.
But Cincinnati still looks different from some of those markets.
Cincinnati Prices Are Still Rising
I pulled MLS data for Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont counties during the live.
The median sale price across those counties was approximately $300,000 in August 2024.
By August 2026, it was around $330,000.
That’s roughly a 10% increase in the median price over that particular two-year comparison.
At the same time, there are more homes sitting on the market and buyers have more negotiating power than they did during the frenzy of a few years ago.
That creates a strange market.
The best houses can still sell quickly.
Meanwhile, the houses that are overpriced, poorly presented or have obvious flaws can sit for weeks or months.
That’s why I keep saying this market is split.
Buyers: Don’t Confuse “Sitting” With “Cheap”
If a house has been sitting for a long time, that can absolutely create an opportunity.
But ask why.
Maybe it’s overpriced.
Maybe it needs work.
Maybe it has a bad lot.
Maybe there’s a smell when you walk in.
Maybe the seller simply missed the market when they listed.
That’s when you may be able to negotiate price, closing costs or repairs.
But Cincinnati home values overall have not suddenly collapsed.
So the strategy isn’t:
“Everything is cheap now.”
The strategy is:
Find the property where the seller has lost leverage.
That is a very different thing.
Sellers: Your First Two Weeks Matter More Than Ever
The same market is creating a much bigger risk for sellers.
During the live, I showed data comparing properties that sold without a price reduction to properties that had one or more price changes.
Homes that were priced correctly from the beginning were selling very close to their original asking price.
Homes that required price reductions were selling substantially farther below their original list price.
The lesson is important:
You don’t necessarily make more money by starting high.
If you miss the market on price, condition, staging or strategy, you can end up chasing buyers downward.
And once buyers see a house has been sitting for 60 or 90 days, they start asking what’s wrong with it.
Heading into fall and winter, that matters even more because buyer activity naturally slows around Thanksgiving, Christmas and colder weather.
Preparation on the front end becomes incredibly important.
What About Mortgage Rates?
A lot of buyers are still saying:
“I’m going to wait until rates come down.”
Maybe they will.
But I think buyers need to be careful about trying to perfectly time the mortgage market.
If rates fall significantly, more buyers could come off the sidelines.
That creates more competition.
And more competition can push prices higher.
If rates rise instead, you could end up facing both a higher purchase price and a higher mortgage rate later.
So I don’t think the question should simply be:
“What will rates do?”
The more important question is:
“Does buying make sense for my life and my finances right now?”
Run the numbers.
Look at the payment.
Look at how long you expect to live there.
Consider the equity you may already have if you’re selling another property.
Then make the decision based on your situation—not a prediction about where rates might be six months from now.
A Few Other Cincinnati Stories I’m Watching
Housing wasn’t the only thing happening around Cincinnati this week.
New Oasis Trail From Downtown Toward Lunken
Planning is moving forward on a 4.5-mile Oasis Trail running from downtown toward Lunken Airport.
The trail is expected to replace part of the existing Oasis rail corridor and eventually connect into other regional trail networks, with construction currently discussed for later this decade. Pasted text
For me, projects like this matter beyond cycling.
Trails, parks and pedestrian infrastructure can materially change how neighborhoods feel and how people connect to different parts of the city.
More Jobs Coming to Springdale
Swiss flavor and fragrance company Givaudan is also moving forward with a significant Springdale investment.
During the live, we discussed the company’s roughly $59 million project, including a property acquisition and plans for dozens of new full-time jobs.
Springdale approved a 15-year, 75% property tax abatement for the project. Pasted text
I’ve been talking about the Springdale–Forest Park–Fairfield corridor quite a bit lately because this part of town keeps picking up industrial and employment wins.
Jobs matter to housing.
When employment grows in an area, people start asking where they should live within 10 or 20 minutes of those jobs.
That’s why I follow these stories as a real estate agent.
Downtown Living Keeps Evolving
We also looked at the newly reimagined residential space in the former downtown PNC building.
This is another example of older Cincinnati office architecture being repurposed into modern residential living.
Downtown Cincinnati continues to evolve away from being primarily a place where people commute for work and toward becoming a place where more people actually live.
That’s an important long-term trend to watch.
And Yes, the Bengals Are 2–0
We have to end with the important stuff.
The Bengals are 2–0, and perhaps more shockingly:
We appear to have a defense. Pasted text
The defensive line looks dramatically deeper, Dexter Lawrence has made an immediate impact, and the overall vibe around this team feels different.
Joe Burrow even took a hit against Houston that apparently helped his rib feel better.
Only in Cincinnati.
Now it’s Pittsburgh week, which means I’m legally required to distrust everything until the clock hits zero.
But two wins, two victory formations and a defense that looks legitimate?
I’ll take it.
Thinking About Buying, Investing or Moving to Cincinnati?
Whether you’re considering your first home, looking at a duplex to house hack or trying to figure out which side of the river fits your family, the biggest thing I’d encourage you to do is understand the numbers before you make the decision.
Cincinnati remains one of the more affordable major metros in the country, but that doesn’t mean every property is a deal.
The right neighborhood matters.
The right property matters.
And the right strategy matters.
If you’re relocating, start with our free Neighborhood Quiz and Cincinnati Relocation Guide.
And if you’re considering buying, selling or investing around Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky, call or text me at 513-813-6293.
No pressure.
Just a conversation.
Find your home. Strengthen your family.