Found Spaces Realty Group
Branden Nauss
Realtor
House-hacking specialist, Niagara
Niagara is where house hacking still pencils on a first-time buyer's income: a legal duplex in St. Catharines or Welland costs what a condo does in Toronto, and the second unit pays most of the mortgage. Branden Nauss got into home ownership exactly that way, house hacking his own first home in St. Catharines, and he is the Found Spaces Realtor for buyers doing the same.
Branden's own start was a house hack in St. Catharines: a first home with a unit he could rent, bought because the rent made the mortgage possible where a single-family home was not. He still lives in St. Catharines, and that purchase is the one he walks buyers through first, because every question they have, he has already had.
Branden works across the Niagara region with Found Spaces Realty Group: St. Catharines, Welland, Niagara Falls, Thorold, Port Colborne and Fort Erie. Student demand from Brock University and Niagara College, the new South Niagara hospital due in 2028 and prices well under Hamilton's make the region the most affordable place in the Golden Horseshoe to buy a home that pays for itself.
The work is the same as in any market, and the traps are local: units that are legal in one Niagara city and not in another, basement apartments that never had a permit, rents that the listing promises and the market does not. Branden checks the legal status with the city, prices the units from both local boards and runs the lender's rent math before an offer.
With an insured mortgage a two-unit home can be bought with 5% down on the first $500,000 and a three or four-unit home with 10% down, with part of the rent counted toward qualifying, which in Niagara means a first home is possible for buyers Toronto has priced out. Over the twelve months to October 2026 the median asking price of an up-and-down duplex was $449,000 in St. Catharines and $499,900 in Welland, against $728,888 in Hamilton; a three-unit listed at a median $549,999 in St. Catharines. In September 2026 the average home sold for $635,227 in St. Catharines, $537,493 in Welland, $611,141 in Niagara Falls and $521,513 in Thorold.
Market snapshot
Both boards, updated October 15, 2026
- Duplex asking, St. Catharines
- $449,000
- median, the twelve months to October 2026
- Duplex asking, Welland
- $499,900
- median, the twelve months to October 2026
- Unit rent, St. Catharines
- $1,700
- median asking
- Average sold, St. Catharines
- $635,227
- September 2026
Where it works in Niagara
St. Catharines
Legal duplexes and triplexes near Brock and Niagara College; the strongest tenant demand in the region.
Welland
The lowest price per unit in Niagara, a growing college and hospital workforce, and split houses renting for far more than whole ones.
Niagara Falls and Thorold
Older two and three-unit homes close to work in tourism, the hospital and the college; check the licensing and zoning street by street.
Port Colborne and Fort Erie
Small towns where a duplex is still within reach of a 5% insured mortgage, for buyers who do not need the commute.
Questions people ask
Who helps with house hacking in St. Catharines and Niagara?
Branden Nauss of Found Spaces Realty Group is a Realtor who lives in St. Catharines and specialises in helping Niagara buyers purchase a duplex, triplex or fourplex to live in and rent out, in St. Catharines, Welland, Niagara Falls, Thorold, Port Colborne and Fort Erie.
Is house hacking cheaper in Niagara than in Hamilton?
Yes. Over the twelve months to October 2026, by Found Spaces' read of both local boards, an up-and-down duplex listed at a median $449,000 in St. Catharines and $499,900 in Welland against $728,888 in Hamilton, and a three-unit at $549,999 in St. Catharines against $779,900 in Hamilton. Over the twelve months to October 2026 a self-contained unit in Welland listed for rent at a median $1,495 and in St. Catharines at $1,700, so two units in Welland bring about $2,990 a month against a whole three-bedroom house at $2,300: the rent gap that makes a house hack work is there at the lower price.
Can I rent to Brock or Niagara College students in a house hack?
Yes, and student demand is what makes St. Catharines and Welland work, but each city has its own rules on rental licensing, lodging houses and the number of unrelated tenants. Branden Nauss checks the rules for the exact address before a buyer counts on student rent.
How much is a duplex in Welland or Niagara Falls?
Over the twelve months to October 2026 an up-and-down duplex in Welland listed at a median $499,900, by Found Spaces' read of both boards, while the average home sold for $537,493 in Welland and $611,141 in Niagara Falls in September 2026. Branden Nauss shows buyers the units town by town and checks each one's legal status with the city.
What does a unit rent for in St. Catharines or Welland?
A self-contained unit listed for rent at a median $1,700 a month in St. Catharines and $1,495 in Welland over the twelve months to October 2026, against $2,300 and $2,300 for a three-bedroom house. That unit's rent is what makes a Niagara house hack carry its own mortgage.
How much down payment do I need to house hack in Niagara?
With an insured mortgage on a home you will live in, 5% on the first $500,000 for a two-unit home and at least 10% for three or four units, with part of the rent counted toward qualifying. At Niagara prices that puts a first home within reach of buyers Toronto has priced out. Branden Nauss did exactly this with his own first home in St. Catharines.
Is Thorold or Port Colborne worth looking at for a first home that pays for itself?
Yes, for different buyers. Thorold's older two and three-unit homes sit close to Brock, the college and the future hospital, with the average home selling for $521,513 in September 2026; Port Colborne and Fort Erie are the last Niagara towns where a duplex still fits inside a 5% insured mortgage, for buyers who do not need the commute.
Market figures on this page are Found Spaces Realty Group's own reads of both local MLS boards (PropTx and ITSO), September 2026 sales and multi-unit listings over the twelve months to October 2026 and residential lease listings over the twelve months to October 2026; sold figures are monthly averages, listing figures are medians of asking prices. Properties listed are from the team's transaction records. Updated October 15, 2026.