The average annual outlay for owning and maintaining a typical single-family home – not including mortgage payments – totaled $18,118 in March, Bankrate found. That works out to $1,510 a month, roughly $300 more than four years earlier, when pandemic lockdowns began. The cost of owning a home in the US has increased 26% since 2020 – and 32% in California – as expenses including taxes, insurance and utilities all soared during a period of high inflation across the economy.
Home maintenance accounted for the largest share of ownership costs in Bankrate’s findings, so states where purchase prices rose dramatically through the pandemic saw bigger percentage jumps in overall outlays. Property levies were the second-largest piece of the equation in high-tax states such as New Jersey and Connecticut. In others, energy bills came in second.
Ostrowski said the totals in some cases may be overstated, especially for owners of newly built homes that don’t need repairs, but that they’re still helpful for buyers to keep in mind.