Insurance, maintenance, and property taxes now cost the typical U.S. homeowner $16,566 a year, about $1,380 a month on top of a mortgage payment, according to an analysis.
Zillow Group Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) and Thumbtack said in a press release published Thursday that these costs, which they call the hidden costs of homeownership, are up 32% over five years but just 3% over the past year.
Insurance Premiums Climb Fastest
Of the $16,566, the typical homeowner spends $11,171 a year on maintenance, $3,129 on property taxes and $2,266 on homeowners insurance, the analysis found. Over five years, insurance premiums jumped 54%, maintenance costs rose 32%, and property taxes went up 19%. Maintenance remains the largest hidden cost everywhere, at roughly two-thirds of the national total, the report noted.
“Many households focus so much on winning the home and underestimate what it costs to live in it,” said Zillow Senior Economist Kara Ng.
“Since these homeownership costs vary so much by market, home shoppers should run the numbers and understand what they can truly afford before they make an offer,” she added.
Growth Cools, but Metros Vary
The pace is cooling. Yearly increases in maintenance costs shrank every year, from 9% in 2022 to 1% in 2026, according to the report.
Insurance may be following the same path, it said, citing federal data showing premiums rose just 0.3% between February and June 2026, though they remain well above where they were five years ago.
Insurance premiums are up at least 50% over five years in 19 of the 30 metros analyzed, led by Dallas at 75%. In Houston, Phoenix, Denver, and Nashville, homeowners pay more each year for insurance than for property taxes.
Miami homeowners pay the most for insurance, at nearly $5,000 a year, and six metros top $3,000 a year. Severe weather, including hail, tornadoes, and damaging winds, may be driving premium increases in storm-prone metros like Dallas and Denver, the report added.
Total hidden costs are highest in coastal metros, led by $25,111 a year in New York, compared with $14,187 in Phoenix, the least costly metro analyzed.
“The slowdown in maintenance cost growth is welcome news for homeowners managing a lot of competing expenses,” said Thumbtack Home Trends expert Kendra Sinclair.
Insurance Costs and Buyer Cancellations
The analysis advised buyers to get an insurance quote before making an offer, since premiums are rising across the country.
A separate report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners published in August found average homeowners insurance premiums rose faster than inflation in every major U.S. region between 2018 and 2024, including 43% in the West.
On the buying side, Redfin reported that 14.5% of home-purchase agreements that went under contract in September fell through, the highest rate for any September on record.
Disclaimer: This content was produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock
Recent Comments