--- title: Owning a Home Now Costs an Average of $17,500 a Year — Not Counting the Mortgage description: How much does it really cost to own a home? Expenses like home insurance, maintenance and utilities add up to $17,459 a year, on average. authors: - name: Sarah Hansen role: Senior Writer url: https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/ bio: Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. Previously, she covered economic policy and capital markets on the breaking news desk at Forbes. education: Northwestern University, New York University at_money_since: 2021 articles: 347 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-m-hansen/ former_staff: true editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2023-03-16T17:17:37.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T14:38:28.000Z' section: Housing tags: - News word_count: 321 canonical: https://money.com/costs-owning-home-above-mortgage/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Miniature house on top of a stack of cash](https://img.money.com/2023/03/News-People-Pay-17K-Own-Home-Outside-Mortgage.jpg) Are you getting ready to buy a home? [Mortgage rates](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/) are sky-high (as are average monthly [mortgage payments](https://money.com/typical-mortgage-payment-record-high/)), but that’s hardly the only homeownership expense you should watch out for. A [new survey](https://www.realestatewitch.com/true-cost-homeownership-2023) of 1,000 homeowners from the website Real Estate Witch finds that on average, people spend an eye-watering $17,459 each year on their home — in addition to the mortgage. ## The numbers Here’s the breakdown of non-mortgage costs that homeowners encounter each year, on average: - Utilities: $4,975 - Maintenance: $4,283 - [Home improvements](https://money.com/best-home-improvement-loans/): $3,890 - Property taxes: $2,795 - [Homeowners insurance](https://money.com/best-home-insurance/): $1,516 After all those expenses (and keeping in mind that [inflation](https://money.com/february-2023-inflation-prices-climbing/) is still pretty high), it’s no wonder 90% of survey respondents said the real cost of owning a home is higher than they anticipated. ## On the other hand Even though rent prices have surged over the past few years, renters can generally avoid some or all of the extra expenses listed above. A January report from the real estate data firm ATTOM found that [renting a home was actually cheaper](https://money.com/renting-cheaper-than-buying-home-now/) than owning one in the majority of the United States. Of course, renting comes with drawbacks too — your individual circumstances and priorities will determine the best course for you. ## What’s next for the housing market Experts say the combination of rising mortgage rates and high home prices have pushed [housing affordability](https://money.com/housing-affordability-lowest-level-in-history/) to record lows, but there could be a light at the end of the tunnel. “Mortgage rates will eventually come down as the Fed makes progress fighting inflation, and home prices have already begun falling,” Taylor Marr, deputy chief economist at the real estate brokerage Redfin, said in a [blog post](https://www.redfin.com/news/share-of-homes-affordable-2022/) earlier this month. 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