FAQ

Hack-A-House is a 24-hour in-person and virtual hackathon-style competition for any college or university student (undergraduate or graduate level) to formulate and pitch innovative ideas to improve housing affordability. Those participating in person do so at the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Three prompts are given to participants at the start of the competition and you or your team have 24 hours to respond to one prompt with an innovative solution.

All undergraduate and graduate students are welcome. The competition is U.S.-based, so prompt subject matter may focus more heavily on U.S.-specific housing challenges. However, students from other countries are welcome to compete as well. Our judges always appreciate international perspectives!

Hack-A-House is, and will always be, 100% free for all participants. We thank our sponsors for helping to support this year's competition.

The competition culminates in the selection of three category-winning teams. These teams will receive $3,000 each and will be invited to present their ideas at the Ivory Prize Summit. Ivory Innovations will cover airfare for all team members and provide one hotel room per team. The 2026 summit will take place in Tempe, Ariz., Oct. 14 and 15.

At the Ivory Prize Summit, each category-winning team will present to a live audience of entrepreneurs, academics, and housing professionals. After the pitches, the audience will vote to select a Grand Prize winner, who will receive an additional $2,000.

In addition to the category and Grand Prize awards, Ivory Innovations will also present a $1,000 People's Choice Award to the team that receives the highest number of votes during the nomination window.

Participants will have access to live video calls with housing industry experts. In addition, the Ivory Innovations team will be available to answer questions and help you craft your pitch during the competition.

You do not need to stay up for 24 hours to participate. You should work on your solution for the length of time you deem best! Over the years, we've seen winning teams that worked on their submissions for just a few hours as well as winners who stayed up most of the night perfecting their pitch.

You can register as an individual or as part of a team of up to five students. If you register as an individual, we will help match you with other participants to form a team. To register as a team, each member should register individually using the same team name.

In addition to Ivory Innovations' sponsors, who support all of Ivory Innovations' work, Hack-A-House 2026 is supported by JP Morgan, Zions Bank, and Think Wood.

For any additional questions regarding sponsorship, please reach out to hah@ivoryinnovations.org.

The best way to stay updated is to simply register for the competition! We also invite you to follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Bluesky, or X.