Median monthly homeownership costs have risen 26 percent from 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest American Community Survey data, released today.
From 2019 to 2024, the median monthly homeownership cost went from $1,609 to $2,035. The increased homeownership costs, according to the survey, are attributed to several factors, including rising home prices, mortgage rates, insurance, homeowners association (HOA) fees, utilities and maintenance costs. Additionally, there has been a steady rise in the cost of less frequent but larger repairs, such as replacing a roof or hot water tank.
Realtor.com crunched one-year and five-year ACS data and found that the affordability strain also extends to homeowners without mortgages. This group of homeowners has seen their median monthly housing costs rise 31 percent from 2019 to $664.
The pinch is highest in Washington, D.C. ($3,181), California ($3,001), Hawaii ($2,937), New Jersey ($2,797), and Massachusetts ($2,755), while West Virginia ($1,272), Arkansas ($1,375), Mississippi ($1,448) and Kentucky ($1,453) offer the greatest affordability for homeowners with mortgages.
Although housing expenses are rising across the board, Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner said insurance fees stand out as a source of strain for homeowners.
Joel Berner | Credit: Realtor.com
“Rising insurance premiums and HOA/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,” he said. “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.”
Realtor.com surveyed 1,000 US adults and found that 75 percent of them believe homeowners’ insurance could soon become unaffordable, with 47 percent reporting that they have or anticipate having issues obtaining or renewing their policies.
Nearly half of survey respondents (42 percent) said their insurance premiums have risen, and 88 percent said they expect the cost to continue rising in the coming years. If the cost becomes too much to bear, 58 percent of homeowners said they may have to forego home insurance altogether.
Among the four main generations of homebuying age — baby boomers, Gen Xers, millennials and Gen Zers — it’s the younger generations who said they’re willing to make major sacrifices to potentially save on home insurance premiums.
A third of Gen Zers said they’ve adjusted their home search process based on insurance data, compared to 6 percent of baby boomers. Thirty percent of Gen Xers, millennials and Gen Zers said they’ve expanded their search area to include homes with lower climate risk, compared to 15 percent of boomers.
Hannah Jones | Credit: Realtor.com
“The survey findings come as more than one in four homes across the country, more than $12.7 trillion in real estate value, face severe or extreme climate risks, including wildfires, floods, and hurricanes,” said Hannah Jones, a Realtor.com senior economic research analyst.
“Homeowners in high-risk markets face additional challenges beyond standard insurance premiums: Flood protection is typically excluded from homeowners’ policies and must be purchased separately; hurricane damage often carries deductibles of 2 percent to 5 percent of the dwelling coverage; and wildfire insurance may not be included in high-risk areas, and access to affordable fire coverage is increasingly limited.”
Rising housing costs are negatively affecting the market, with the share of homeowner households declining for the first time in nine years.
According to a previous Inman article, the share of homeowner households declined 0.1 percent to 86.2 million during the second quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, the share of renter households rose 2.6 percent to 46.4 million.
Redfin, which broke the data, said part of the decline is due to Americans hitting certain milestones, such as marriage and having children, at later ages. However, the biggest impact is simply the rising cost of homeownership.
“America’s homeowner population is no longer growing because rising home prices, high mortgage rates, and economic uncertainty have made it increasingly difficult to own a home,” Redfin Head of Economics Research Chen Zhao said.
