Let’s be honest: housing hasn’t been “affordable” for years. But 2026? It’s shaping up to be what experts are calling a “less brutal but still expensive” reset year. Translation: things aren’t suddenly cheap, but the math is finally starting to work in your favor again.
If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines waiting for your window, this might be it. Here’s what’s changing and how co-buying can help you capitalize on it.
The Affordability Picture Is Actually Improving
For the first time since the pandemic sent housing costs into the stratosphere, several key indicators are pointing in the right direction:
Mortgage rates are coming down. Major forecasters expect rates to average in the low to mid-6% range in 2026, down from the 7%+ territory we saw in recent years. Yes, we’re not getting back to 3% money anytime soon, but even a percentage point drop can trim hundreds off your monthly payment.
Income growth is finally outpacing home prices. While home prices are still expected to rise, the increases are modest at around 1 to 2.2% nationally. Compare that to wage growth of roughly 3 to 4%, and you’ve got a rare moment where your buying power is actually expanding instead of shrinking.
Monthly payments are dropping below the danger zone. One key forecast projects that the typical mortgage payment will fall to about 29% of median income in 2026, the first time affordability moves back under the 30% HUD threshold since 2022. Total costs with taxes and insurance remain challenging, but this is real progress.
Inventory Is Shifting the Power Dynamic
Here’s where things get interesting. After years of historically tight supply, inventory is slowly rebuilding:
More homeowners are listing their properties, and a wave of new construction, especially across the South and West, is pushing supply above pre-pandemic levels in certain markets. This is creating downward pressure on prices in those areas, giving buyers actual negotiating room.
But not everywhere. Parts of the Midwest and Northeast still have inventory 30 to 50% below pre-pandemic norms, according to National Association of Realtors data. In these markets, prices are more likely to keep rising faster than the national average.Housing Statistics and Real Estate Market Trends
The rental market tells a similar story. Rents have cooled sharply, with multifamily vacancies hovering around or above 7.2%, the highest in years. That’s giving tenants more negotiating power and, crucially, more breathing room to save for a down payment without getting crushed by rising rent every year.
Why Co-Buying Is Having Its Moment
Here’s what most people don’t realize: co-buying isn’t some niche strategy anymore. It’s becoming mainstream fast.
Recent data shows that 30% of U.S. home sales in 2025 involved co-buyers. That’s nearly one in three transactions. And get this: more than 61 million Americans already co-own homes in groups averaging 3.6 people.
Consumer attitudes are shifting too. A national survey found that 63% of recent buyers co-purchased their primary home, and 80% of adults find professionally managed co-ownership attractive because of shared costs and improved access to homeownership.
The perceived advantages? Sharing costs topped the list at 67%, followed by affording a better home at 56% and creating investment opportunities at 54%. Nearly half of co-buyers use their home as an investment, whether for rentals or flips.
This isn’t your parents’ housing market. It’s a market where pooling resources isn’t just smart, it’s often the only way to make the numbers work.
How Co-Buying Makes 2026’s Math Work in Your Favor
Even with rates in the 6% range and prices still elevated, co-buying transforms what’s possible:
Stacking incomes opens doors that would stay shut otherwise. By combining financial profiles, co-buyers qualify for larger loan amounts while keeping each person’s debt-to-income ratio manageable. When you’re competing for a limited inventory of homes, that qualification edge matters.
Splitting the down payment changes everything. Survey data shows non-romantic co-buyers contributing around $89,000 on average to their purchase. For most individuals, scraping together that kind of cash would take years or simply wouldn’t be feasible. Together? It’s suddenly within reach.
Ongoing costs become sustainable. When you split the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and utilities, even if the “official” affordability metrics hover near 30% of income, each person’s individual burden can fall well below that threshold. You’re not just buying a home, you’re buying financial breathing room.
Want to see exactly how the numbers would work for your situation? Pairgap’s Co-Buyer Calculator lets you model different scenarios with real cost breakdowns.
Why Investors Should Pay Attention to 2026
If you’re thinking about real estate as an investment, 2026 presents a rare setup. Experts are describing it as a “great housing reset,” with home values rising only about 1.2 to 2.2% and more metros seeing flat or even slightly lower prices while rents stabilize.
Forecasts call for slightly higher existing home sales and more inventory, which shifts negotiating power back to buyers and investors who have capital ready. According to Realtor.com’s 2026 housing forecast, this creates opportunities for those who can move quickly and buy strategically.
National rent growth is expected to be flat to slightly positive, roughly 0.3% for multifamily and about 2.3% for single-family properties. That’s a narrow spread, but for investors who buy right and hold, there’s workable cash flow potential.
Co-buying as an investment strategy makes even more sense in this environment. You can pool capital to access better properties in stronger markets, share the risk, and maintain lower individual exposure. Pairgap’s platform specializes in matching investors and co-buyers based on financial psychology, communication style, and investment goals, not just who you happen to know.
The Window Won’t Stay Open Forever
Here’s the reality: 2026 isn’t the year housing becomes cheap. But it is the year the math finally starts moving in buyers’ favor after years of being stacked against them.
Rates are dropping. Inventory is rising. Income growth is outpacing price growth. Rent pressure is easing. These conditions create a window where strategic buyers and investors, especially those willing to co-buy, can finally get some leverage back.
The question isn’t whether you can afford to buy in 2026. It’s whether you can afford to wait any longer while this rare alignment of factors plays out.
If you’re ready to explore how co-buying could work for your situation, start with Pairgap’s Compatibility Assessment to understand your financial psychology and what kind of co-ownership arrangement would set you up for success. Because the best time to act isn’t when housing becomes “affordable” by some mythical standard. It’s when the conditions finally shift enough to give you a fighting chance.
And in 2026? That chance is here.
