When Zillowing a home to find out just how loaded an acquaintance is, the price tag you see is only the tip of the iceberg. On top of mortgage payments, there’s the cost of owning a home, a number that surged in recent years, according to a recent Bankrate analysis.

Even if someone has a suitcase full of cash to cover a home’s entire purchase price (the median of which hit $436k in March, per Redfin), they’d still face a lifetime of regular expenses.

• Owners of a single-family home can expect to pay an average of $18.1k a year for home insurance, property taxes, maintenance, and bills that renters pay too—energy, cable, and internet. The overall tab is 26% more than in 2020.
• Annual homeownership costs vary by location: They’re highest in Hawaii ($29k), California ($28.8k), and Massachusetts ($26.3k), and lowest in Kentucky ($11.6k), Arkansas ($11.7k), and Mississippi ($11.9k).

Rising home insurance premiums and maintenance are the main culprits for the increased cost of the American Dream, Bankrate analyst Jeff Ostrowski told CNN. Insurance premiums have skyrocketed, particularly in areas with more frequent natural disasters.

A way to avoid the steep cost…is to buy an apartment or a multifamily home, which might be cheaper to own than a single-family property.—SK