The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have released new summary tables and public use files from the 2024 Rental Housing Finance Survey (RHFS). The RHFS is a key source of information on financial, mortgage, and property characteristics for residential properties in the United States that include at least one rental unit.
According to the Census Bureau, “The RHFS provides measures of financial, mortgage and property characteristics of U.S. residential properties with at least one housing rental unit. It is the only data source that provides a comprehensive picture of mortgage financing for all types of rental properties.”
Data collected by the survey covers several aspects: property value, purchase price, year built or acquired, number of buildings and rental units, recent improvements, monthly rents, commercial use within residential structures, property management and ownership status, as well as benefits received from various programs. Mortgage-related details such as the number of mortgages or debts on a property, loan amounts—both original and outstanding—and payment frequency are also included.
“The RHFS collects data on: Property characteristics — value, purchase price, year built, year acquired, number of buildings, number of rental units, and recent improvements and upgrades. Rental status and monthly rents in residential buildings. Commercial use of space in residential structures. Property management and ownership status. Benefits received from federal, state, local and nongovernmental programs. Mortgage characteristics — number of mortgages (or debts) on the property, original/outstanding loan amounts, and frequency of payments (biweekly, monthly, annually, one-time, etc.),” stated officials.
The survey was conducted between June and November 2024 by the Census Bureau with sponsorship from HUD.
Further details about the 2024 RHFS are available on its official webpage.
