The average U.S. homeowner spends $17,958 each year on non-mortgage expenses, according to new research from Real Estate Witch, an online resource published by Clever Real Estate.
The greatest expense involves utilities – the average homeowner spends $5,362 per year. Other costly bills involve the annual average of $4,392 spent on maintenance and repairs, $3,784 on renovations and improvements, $2,904 on property taxes and $1,516 on homeowners’ insurance.
Nearly one-quarter of homeowners (23%) reported spending more than 30% of their income on home expenses on top of their mortgage payments. As a result of these costs, more than one-third of homeowners (36%) said their home has negatively affected their finances, and nearly one-quarter (23%) said it has negatively impacted their mental health.
And when all the bills are processed, 88% of homeowners admitted the true cost of owning a home was more expensive than they expected, and 67% had regrets about their home purchase, with 28% said they’ve considered going back to renting, and 20% stating they’ve taken on more debt to afford the expense of homeownership.
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Click bait headline. Poorly presented information that makes it look like home ownership isn’t a good investment. Really would be better content to compare to rental expenses. Most renters pay utilities and insurance so may be better to say home owners spend $12,000/y more than renters. But might be helpful to give the average increase in equity that home owners get that helps to balance that out and that rents go up much faster than the increase in mortgage payments. Been in my house for 20 years, equity has gone up $350k over expenses and my mortgage is $1,100/month. Renting a similar home in my area rent for $3000/m and will just increase. Don’t be scared to own a home.