The Costs of Homeownership Is Skyrocketing

Homeownership affordability fell to its lowest level since the 1980s last year as mortgage rates reached a 23-year high and home prices set new records.

Borrowing costs have eased somewhat this year, with the average rate for a 30-year home loan down about a percentage point since October. But other prices related to homeownership keep rising and show little sign of abating.

Property taxes and home-maintenance costs are climbing in much of the country. Non-mortgage costs including property taxes, maintenance, utilities and insurance make up more than half of homeowners’ overall costs, according to a 2022 analysis by Fannie Mae economists.

Worst of all, home insurance premiums are soaring. Rates rose by more than 10% on average in 19 states in 2023 after a series of big payouts related to floods, storms, wildfires and other natural disasters across the U.S., according to an Insurance Information Institute analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. More Americans also moved to disaster-prone areas in recent years, increasing the exposure to these events.

Escalating costs on multiple fronts mean that many first-time buyers will continue to find homeownership a financial stretch.

Consumer prices rose 3.5% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The stronger-than-expected inflation data could prompt Federal Reserve officials to hold rates at their current level for longer, which could also keep mortgage rates from declining.

The tens of millions of American homeowners who have locked…   in mortgage rates below 4% still have to contend with these other costs. And since insurance premiums, tax bills and maintenance costs can change each year, it’s hard for homeowners to budget how much more they will be paying even a few years from now.

Plenty of homeowners are having to stretch financially to meet these home-related expenses. Nearly one in five said they couldn’t afford a $500 emergency repair without going into credit-card debt, according to a February online survey of 1,000 homeowners by tech company Clever Real Estate, while 42% said they’ve skipped home repairs or maintenance because of the cost.

Almost 10% of homeowners surveyed by Fannie Mae last year were not confident they could afford their home insurance premiums at their next renewal.