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LendingTree | The U.S. has far more vacant homes than many might expect. In fact, 14.5 million U.S. homes — roughly 1 in 10 nationwide — are empty. But vacancy doesn’t always mean availability. Some empty units are used seasonally, while others are available for rent — and fewer than 800,000 are listed for sale. The differences in vacancy type help explain why housing can feel scarce even when millions of homes sit empty.

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LendingTree | For millions of Americans, the dream of homeownership is slipping further out of reach. LendingTree research found that fewer than 4 in 10 nonhomeowner households nationwide can afford a starter home. The data highlights significant differences in starter-home affordability across the country, with some markets remaining far more accessible than others.

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LendingTree | Homeownership has long been seen as a path to lasting stability. But for single parents, that path can be riddled with obstacles — especially in certain parts of the country. According to a LendingTree study, single parents in some U.S. metros are more than twice as likely to own a home as those in the most challenging metros. Further, housing costs consume a vastly different share of single-parent incomes across the country. Find our full analysis and data below.

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LendingTree | Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions many Americans will ever make, but too many buyers could leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table by skipping one simple step: shopping around. A LendingTree analysis finds that borrowers who compare mortgage offers could save an average of $62,572 over the life of a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage — yet many still fail to do so.

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LendingTree | Property taxes are a growing burden for American homeowners, with costs rising across every major metro. Homeowners pay a median of more than $3,000 a year in property taxes, climbing 5.1% from 2023 to 2024. Here’s a closer look at where property taxes rose the most.

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LendingTree | Nearly 1 in 3 people who took out a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage from 2023 to 2025 could save an average of $2,320 annually by refinancing at market rates observed in early April 2026. LendingTree compared individual mortgage rates found in government-collected mortgage data from those three years to 6.37% — the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage in early April — to see how many borrowers had rates at least a half-point higher.

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LendingTree | Gen Z is steadily carving out its place in the housing market, accounting for 19.9% of mortgage requests nationally. However, while younger buyers now make up a meaningful share of mortgage activity nationwide, their presence is much stronger in some markets than in others. Our study found that their influence is especially pronounced in more affordable Midwestern metros, and far less visible in high-cost coastal cities.

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LendingTree | Four in 10 homeowners received financial help with the down payment on their current home, including nearly 80% of Gen Z homeowners, and more than a third of those who got help say they wouldn’t have been able to buy their home when they did without it.

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LendingTree | Housing costs consume a large portion of most household budgets. When added to essentials like groceries, transportation, utilities and other monthly bills, many Americans are left financially stretched. Data offers some modest relief: The average monthly payment on a new mortgage fell 2.4% to $1,942 in 2025, down from $1,990 the previous year. Still, affordability pressures remain significant. Nearly 1 in 4 new borrowers devote at least 30% of their income to mortgage payments — a common benchmark for housing cost burden.

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LendingTree | A home shopper may crunch the numbers to make sure the mortgage fits their budget, only to encounter the fine print: an additional $400 or even $500 a month in homeowners association (HOA) fees. This added cost can make a difference when it comes to overall home affordability, and it’s not especially uncommon.

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