Your 401(k) match may no longer be the best perk your employer offers. Here’s the benefit replacing it

Then, Petee discovered that her employee benefits included Nestment, a homeownership coaching platform. She decided to try it out, and now Petee and her husband have closed on a $1.4 million home.

While it’s still uncommon, some employers are adding employer-assisted housing programs (EAHP) to their employee benefit packages, alongside 401(k)s, health insurance and student loan debt relief.

For employers, this could help to recruit and retain employees in highly competitive industries. For employees, it could open the door to homeownership — and for some Americans, it could be a more coveted perk than a 401(k) match.

Why housing benefits are gaining traction

While the median home price in the U.S. declined 0.4% in October, that follows three years of rising home-sale prices — which kept rising even as mortgage rates ticked upward.

“Sale prices have risen nearly every single month for the last 13 years; the only exception was a handful of months in 2023,” according to Redfin News. It also points out that prices are “still rising rapidly in some metros with hot markets.”

That includes San Francisco, where prices rose 16.8% year over year, with AI wealth fueling competition for already-scarce housing inventory. In some markets, however, prices fell, including Austin, Seattle and Nashville.

But overall, home sales have dropped — since many Americans simply can’t afford to buy one. That could be why employer housing perks are starting to gain traction.

According to a survey on employer-sponsored homeownership by NestSteps, 78% of respondents would consider switching employers for a competitor that offered homeownership assistance — even for a lateral move with similar pay.

For employers, housing perks have a loyalty effect: the majority (89%) of respondents say they would be more likely to stay with an employer after receiving homeownership assistance, “even after the benefit has been received and the home purchased.”

And, according to a 2025 survey by insurance and surety bond firm Brown & Brown, 38% of respondents would be willing to take a salary cut of up to 10% for employer housing, while 52% of remote workers would return to the office in exchange for housing support.

Despite this, just 4% of employers were offering housing benefits at the time of the survey, though one in 10 were considering it. Those who do offer housing benefits tend to be in industries where competition for top talent is fierce, such as tech.

“Many workers, especially younger generations, are willing to relocate, return to the office or even take a pay cut for better housing support,” according to the Brown & Brown survey. “While some employers remain cautious, a growing number see these benefits as a cost-effective way to attract and retain talent.”

EAHP comes in many forms

There are a number of different ways that employers can help their workers buy a home, from coaching platforms to direct financial assistance.

The one Petee used, Nestment, is a platform that provides homeownership coaching, matching first-time homebuyers with a personal coach and AI insights.

The platform walks members through the process of buying a home, matching them with a real estate agent and lender based on their finances and goals. It then uses AI-driven data to evaluate a home’s true value before the member makes an offer.

Nestment was launched in 2021, focused on educating first-time homebuyers. In early 2026, it started offering the service as an employer benefit.

Another platform, NestSteps, launched in 2025 as an employer-sponsored benefit program, which provides education and a Home Savings Plan to help employees accelerate savings.

It has a contribution model where employers can choose to make employee contributions; payment frequency can be quarterly, annual, milestone-based or on a home purchase. Employers can also model their return on investment by comparing turnover costs to program expenses.