Homeownership affordability problems do not end once the consumer closes on the property, as nearly nine out of every 10 said the true cost is higher than expected, a Clever Real Estate study said.
Nearly three in five respondents, 58%, said they had buyers’ remorse, and among those that bought their property in 2020 (when the pandemic-fueled boom started) or later, the regret rate was over two-thirds at 68%. Purchasers before that time, 54% said they had buyers’ remorse.
The average homeowner spends $17,958 annually on expenses; if the borrower stays in the property for the entire 30-year term of a typical mortgage, that adds up to $538,740, Clever RE and its Real Estate Witch online publication found.
About 36% of homeowners believe owning their home has negatively affected their finances, with 23% stating it’s negatively impacted their mental health.
Had they known the total cost ahead of time, 60% of respondents claimed they would have made a different homebuying decision.
The top two choices about what they would have done differently is that they would have purchased a property that requires less maintenance, or negotiated a better price or contingencies, both at 21%. Waiting until mortgage rates fall was cited by 14%; respondents could choose more than one response.
Those who bought a home in 2023 or 2024 were more likely to say they overpaid than those who bought before 2010, 46% to 16%. From the entire sample, about 26% of homeowners say they overpaid.
Just under half stated they are spending more money owning a home than they would have on renting, supporting some recent studies on the costs of both. Meanwhile 28% stated if they had their druthers, they would prefer to return to renting.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents had regrets about their purchase, with 15% stating their mortgage payments are too high and 13% saying their interest rate is too high; more than one answer was possible for this question.
Clever/Real Estate Witch did an online survey of 1,000 U.S. homeowners on Feb.1 and 2. Each respondent answered 25 questions.
A separate study from Redfin released on Thursday found a buyer must earn $75,849 annually to afford the typical starter home as of February, up 8.2%, or $5,767 over a year earlier.
Different data Redfin put out that same day found for all homes, the average monthly payment on a purchase for the four weeks ended March 24 was at an all-time high.
“The most affordable homes are much smaller and often require a lot of work to make them habitable — which makes them cost even more,” Elijah de la Campa, senior economist at Redfin, said in a press release. “Today’s most affordable homes are still hard for the average American to afford, let alone the average first-time buyer who tends to put less money down in exchange for higher monthly payments.”
