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Hidden costs of owning a home — including maintenance, homeowners insurance and property taxes — are eating further into household budgets, a new analysis by Zillow and Thumbtack shows. The firms found those non-mortgage expenses now total about $16,566 a year, or roughly $1,380 a month, and have risen roughly one‑third over the past five years.
Within that $16,566 annual figure, Zillow and Thumbtack estimated the typical U.S. homeowner faces about $11,171 in yearly maintenance, $2,266 for homeowners insurance and $3,129 in property taxes. The analysis attributes a 32% increase in overall homeownership costs to changes since 2021, with insurers and service providers cited as major drivers.
Which costs rose the most
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The study found homeowners insurance premiums have climbed fastest over five years, up 54% nationally, while maintenance costs grew 32% and property taxes rose 19% over the same period. Year‑over‑year growth has moderated in some areas: overall homeownership costs increased 3% in the last year, Zillow and Thumbtack reported.
“Many households focus so much on winning the home and underestimate what it costs to live in it,” Zillow Senior Economist Kara Ng said in the report. “Long after they receive the keys, insurance, taxes and upkeep are recurring expenses to plan for. Since these homeownership costs vary so much by market, home shoppers should run the numbers and understand what they can truly afford before they make an offer.”
Signs of a slowdown — but regional pressure remains
Not all categories are accelerating. The Zillow and Thumbtack analysis shows annual increases in maintenance costs have eased each year for the last five years, slowing from 9% annual growth in 2022 to about 1% in 2026. Insurance increases have also cooled recently; premiums rose just 0.3% between February and June 2026.
“The slowdown in maintenance cost growth is welcome news for homeowners managing a lot of competing expenses,” Kendra Sinclair, Thumbtack’s home trends expert, said. “Planning for regular upkeep throughout the year can help prevent bigger repair bills and protect your savings when something unexpected happens.”
Still, the burden varies sharply by metro. The report examined 30 metropolitan areas and found insurance premiums rose at least 50% over five years in 19 of them. The largest five‑year insurance increases were in Dallas (75%), Tampa (71%), Denver (70%) and Houston (69%), trends the analysis linked in part to severe weather risks such as hail, tornadoes and damaging winds.
Maintenance was the largest component of hidden costs nationwide, accounting for roughly two‑thirds of the $16,566 total. In six major metro areas maintenance costs exceed $12,000 annually; Zillow and Thumbtack cited Seattle ($12,594) and Boston ($12,486) as examples. Los Angeles showed the sharpest year‑over‑year jump in maintenance expenses — up 27% — a rise the analysis attributed to wildfire‑related recovery work, stronger demand for home services and elevated labor costs.
The Zillow and Thumbtack findings underline the importance of budgeting beyond the mortgage payment, particularly in markets experiencing outsized insurance or maintenance inflation. The analysis and the quoted commentary appear in the Zillow–Thumbtack report cited by Fox Business.
