If the challenge of scraping enough money to buy a home in the U.S. weren’t enough amid painfully high real estate prices, the cost of owning a home is also surging.
The inflation-adjusted median monthly cost of homeownership in 2024 rose to $2,035, up neary 4% from $1,960 in 2023, according to new Census Bureau data. That cost encompasses monthly mortgage and insurance payments, taxes, utilities and other fees.
The main factors behind the increase in homeownership costs: higher mortgage rates, fees and insurance costs.
“Rising insurance premiums and [homeowners association]/condo fees are the behind-the-scenes culprits for this increase outside of the basic increases to mortgage rates and home prices we’ve seen since 2019,” Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner said in a statement.
The typical condo or HOA fee in 2024 was $135, Census found. The median annual cost for property insurance in 2024 was $1,348.
“It’s not always clear to prospective homebuyers to budget for these costs since they sit on top of the basic principal and interest payments on a home, but these costs are rising and are a significant portion of what homeowners pay every month,” he added.
Millions of homeowners also face rising electricity costs, driven largely by the growing power requirements of artificial intelligence, data centers, electrification and manufacturing.
A recent LendingTree study found that residents in the 50 largest U.S. metro areas spend more than $450 a month on utilities, up 24% from 2019. Costs were highest in Boston, Massachusetts; New York, New York; Providence, Rhode Island; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the personal finance site found.
Highest homeownership costs
Homeowners in the District of the Columbia faced the highest median monthly costs in 2024, at $3,181, according to the Census survey. Others U.S. states with high homeownership costs California, where residents paid over $3,000 a month for the typical home; Hawaii ($2,937); New Jersey ($2,797); and Massachusetts ($2,755).
Renters also face rising costs. In 2024, the median gross rent across the U.S. was $1,487, up 2.7% from $1,448 the previous year, the figures show.
