Cost of owning a home has surged $8,500 a year since the pandemic dramatically faster than inflation

Owning a home has become a money pit, according to a new report — with the costs of insurance, taxes, mortgage payments and repairs growing dramatically faster than inflation.American homeowners in 2025 spent about $28,500 per year on basic ownership costs, on average.That’s up from the $20,000 the same things just six years earlier in 2019, before the pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported.It’s an increase that’s outpaced inflation by about $3,000 — with 2019’s $20,000 supposed to be worth about $25,500 in 2025 due to inflation, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.And the results of those costs are clear: far fewer people are buying homes today than they were before the pandemic.

Only about 4 million homes have sold each year since 2023 — compared to the roughly 5.5 million selling annually before the pandemic, the Journal reported.The biggest cost increase is obvious to anyone who has bought a home in the last few years: interest rates.Mortgage rates were less than 3% during the pandemic, but more than doubled to over 6% by 2022 and have held steady since.That means people’s buying power has nearly halved — buyers on a $2,500 monthly budget could afford a $517,000 house with a 20% down payment under the 3% rate, while the same budget could only afford a $384,000 house at today’s 6.5% mortgage rate.Maintenance costs meanwhile have risen by nearly 40% since the pandemic, with Americans spending an average $9,000 on home upkeep in 2019 — and $12,500 in 2025 as labor and material costs soar.Insurance costs also soared across the country after years of severe weather, ranging from historic hurricanes to increasingly violent wildfires.

Iowa has watched home-insurance rates climb 91% since 2021, while Florida rates have jumped 35%, according to the Journal.Even fundamentals like electricity costs are climbing — one kilowatt hour of power cost about 12.5 cents in 2019, but cost nearly 19 cents as of March 2026.Many Americans simply...