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 data on financial, mortgage, and property characteristics for U.S. residential properties with 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 include information about property value, purchase price, year built, year acquired, number of buildings, number of rental units, and recent improvements or upgrades. The survey also covers rental status and monthly rents in residential buildings, commercial use within residential structures, property management and ownership status, benefits received from various programs, as well as details about mortgages such as the number held on each property, original and outstanding loan amounts, and payment frequency.
The survey was conducted by the Census Bureau from June to November 2024 with sponsorship from HUD. More details can be found on the Rental Housing Finance Survey (RHFS) webpage: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/rhfs.html
