The price for owning a home is rising rapidly – and we’re not just talking about mortgage payments.
US homeowners are now paying an average of $18,118 a year on property taxes, homeowners’ insurance, maintenance, energy and various other expenses linked to owning a home, according to a new Bankrate study.
That’s nearly the cost to buy a used car and represents a 26% increase from four years ago when it cost $14,428 annually to own and maintain a home.
All of these variable expenses are on top of the fixed cost of a mortgage, including property taxes, homeowners insurance, energy costs, internet, cable bills and home maintenance.
The findings are another reminder of how much more expensive life has become since Covid-19.
Many Americans would like to buy a home but have been unable to because home prices have spiked to record highs and mortgage rates remain elevated. The housing market is historically unaffordable.
But even the ones fortunate enough to have bought a home over the past few years are grappling with sticker shock over the cost of maintaining it.
The per-month cost of owning and maintaining a home has gone from $1,202 a month in 2020 to $1,510 now, Bankrate found.
Read more at CNN.com
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