More than half of homeowners (58%) would have made a different buying decision if they had known the true cost of owning a home and would pay an average of $18,529 more for a maintenance-free home.

ST. LOUIS, May 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The typical homeowner spends $23,686 per year on non-mortgage expenses, which adds up to roughly $710,580 over a 30-year mortgage, according to a new report from Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company.

The average homeowner's annual non-mortgage costs include:

• $7,679 on utilities
• $5,162 on maintenance
• $3,929 on renovations
• $3,580 on property taxes
• $3,336 on homeowners insurance.

For the 37% of homeowners who belong to an HOA, the total climbs to $27,882 per year.

Unsurprisingly, the vast majority (82%) of homeowners say their non-mortgage costs have increased since they bought their home, and 45% say homeownership costs more than they expected.

Among all the costs of owning a home, property taxes are what homeowners find most unfair (49%) and most want to eliminate (45%). Two-thirds of homeowners (66%) say their property taxes have increased significantly since they purchased.

Amid increasing costs, more than half of homeowners (55%) say they could not cover a $5,000 emergency home repair without going into credit card debt, and nearly 1 in 5 (17%) couldn't afford even a $1,000 emergency. About 42% say they could not afford a $500 monthly increase in housing costs.

As a result, 63% of homeowners have put off necessary maintenance due to cost, and 38% do not actively budget for unexpected repairs at all. More than a third (35%) have delayed a major repair for more than a year, and 31% say something essential is currently broken in their home that they do not plan to immediately fix.

Almost half (48%) admit they have no financial plan for replacing costly major home systems such as their roof, HVAC, or appliances.

About two-thirds of homeowners (65%) have already made financial sacrifices to cover homeownership costs, including 22% who carry a credit card balance and 19% who have dipped into retirement savings.

The generational divide is striking: 43% of millennials have postponed major life decisions to afford homeownership, compared to just 10% of boomers, and millennials spend a median of $10,000 a year on maintenance versus $2,000 for boomers.

Despite the financial strain, homeowners remain overwhelmingly positive — 87% of homeowners say it's worth the cost, 89% view homeownership as a good financial investment, and 81% would buy their current home again if given the choice.

Read the full report at: https://listwithclever.com/research/costs-of-owning-a-home-2026/

About Clever Real Estate

Clever Real Estate's content reaches over 10 million readers annually, and its nationwide agent matching service has a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 4,000+ customer reviews. Since launching in 2017, Clever has reached $15.7 billion in real estate sold, matched over 215,000 customers with realtors, and saved consumers over $230 million on commission fees. Clever's network spans over 13,000 agents across all 50 states.

CONTACT:
Alyssa Evans
Clever Real Estate
413656@email4pr.com
315-690-1518

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SOURCE Clever Real Estate