Homeowners Pay $16,000 Per Year in Hidden Ownership Costs: Zillow

The hidden costs worsen the home affordability crisis amid elevated home prices and mortgage rates.

A "For Sale" sign stands in front of a home in Washington on May 19, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The hidden costs associated with owning a home amount to an average $15,979 per year across the United States, further straining housing affordability, according to a statement from real estate marketplace Zillow released on Nov. 13.

Out of the $15,979, the largest cost is maintenance, which amounts to an average of $10,946 per year, the company stated. Property taxes amount to $3,030, while insurance adds $2,003 to the yearly cost.

“Together, those costs have increased 4.7 percent in the past year, while household incomes rose just 3.8 percent,“ Zillow stated. ”The squeeze is sharpest in expensive coastal metros, where hidden costs reach $24,381 in New York City, $22,781 in San Francisco, and $21,320 in Boston.”

The yearly additional homeownership burden amounts to $1,325 per month, which the owner pays in addition to the monthly mortgage payments. The median monthly mortgage payment for the four weeks ending on Nov. 9 was $2,495, according to real estate brokerage Redfin.

Premiums on the Rise

There has been a significant increase in insurance premiums, which Zillow said have risen by 48 percent nationwide since February 2020.

“Insurance costs are rising nearly twice as fast as homeowner incomes,” Zillow senior economist Kara Ng said.

“It’s not just a budget line item. It’s a barrier to entry for aspiring first-time buyers and for families already stretched thin.

“Buyers who are already facing affordability challenges in today’s market need to understand and budget for these less obvious expenses when calculating how much home they can truly afford.”

Zillow warned prospective homebuyers to be aware of their actual buying power and plan for maintenance costs early in the process.

Buyers should also reconsider the type of home they wish to buy, the company advised. For instance, buying a large single-family home with a huge backyard brings an additional burden of higher maintenance costs.

The hidden costs worsen the home affordability crisis amid elevated home prices and mortgage rates.

The average sales price of homes sold in the United States in the second quarter was $512,800, up by almost 20 percent from $428,600 in the second quarter of 2021, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Meanwhile, the weekly mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.24 percent for the week ending on Nov. 13, according to data from Freddie Mac.

This is up from roughly 3 percent about four years ago. Since September 2022, mortgage rates have consistently remained above the 6 percent level for every single week, putting extended pressure on homeowners.

On the positive side, the current rate of 6.24 percent is down from the yearly peak of 7.04 percent hit in January.

Market to Get Christmas Boost

In a Nov. 13 commentary, Lisa Sturtevant, an economist at real estate data company Bright MLS, suggested that lower rates could “finally be prompting some buyers to get into the market.”

This could result in a “surprisingly busy” housing market for the last two months of the year, a period in which home sales activity usually dampens, according to Sturtevant.

“Uncertainty is now a double-edged sword in the housing market,“ she said. ”While economic concerns and declining consumer confidence have held many buyers back this year, the outlook for continued uncertainty in 2026 might be leading some buyers to get into the market now to take advantage of rate drops and more inventory.”

In an Oct. 16 statement, the National Association of Home Builders said that despite market challenges such as macroeconomic uncertainty, builder expectations rose in October.

Buddy Hughes, chairman of the association, said the recent declines in mortgage rates have been an “encouraging sign” for housing affordability.

“The housing market has some areas with firm demand, including smaller builders shifting to remodeling and ongoing solid conditions for the luxury market,” he said in the statement.

“However, most home buyers are still on the sidelines, waiting for mortgage rates to move lower.”

Bringing down mortgage rates further may require a sizable drop in the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rates.

In September, the Fed cut its interest rate for the first time in 2025. And at the October meeting, the central bank cut the rate once more, reducing it by a quarter point to a range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent.