As the typical purchase price for a home remains at an all-time high, so does the cost of caring for one.
According to the Q3 Home Care Price Index (wherein analysts at home-services provider Thumbtack estimate the yearly expense to maintain a single-family house), homeowners today average an annual $10,433 for their property’s upkeep. That represents a 5.9% increase compared to last year’s third quarter.
On the upside for homeowners, 2024’s 1.7% Q2-Q3 increase reflects a deceleration in pace compared to a 2.47% rise during the same period last year.
Researchers say aging home inventory, climate and weather-related issues, and building material price inflation collectively have contributed to rising home-care costs.
The median age of homes in the U.S. is approximately 43 years. That has precipitated “a need for more complex and costly repairs due to older systems and a backlog of neglected maintenance,” according to the report.
Exacerbating the situation are supply chain disruptions and growing costs for construction materials, which have accelerated since the beginning of 2024, increasing home maintenance professionals’ overhead.
Extreme-weather-related factors are another major contributor, the research showed.
August 2024 was recorded as the hottest month in NOAA’s 175-year history, authors of the study said. Heat waves further strain home systems and elevate the demand for air conditioning repairs, which surged by 14.62%. That’s the highest year-over-year increase among the study’s 19 “essential home projects” categories.
Heating system repairs, pest control services, gutter cleaning, and irrigation system repairs also saw double-digit increases (respectively 14.43%, 13.06%, 12.03%, and 11.48%).
While a majority of categories saw cost increases, most were relatively small and six rose less than 5% Y-o-Y. Duct and vent cleanings, along with water heater maintenance, even saw slight decreases in costs, at -4.05% and -0.43% year-over-year, respectively.
At the local level, 27 of the 30 major markets in the study experienced year-over-year cost increases.
San Francisco recorded the most significant hike at 17.24%, bringing annual costs to $12,261. Other cities with notable increases include Atlanta (up 11.43% to $11,730) and Detroit (up 10.31% to $10,949). Conversely, Washington, D.C. experienced a decrease of 2.96% in annual home maintenance costs, alongside Los Angeles (down 2.41%) and Chicago (down 2.24%).
Also notable, the report highlighted a correlation between job creation and home maintenance costs.
“In the past five years, Texas and Florida have been responsible for more than half of the nation’s jobs created, fostering a more competitive market,” the report’s authors note. “Both Texas and Florida dominate the list of cities where it is least expensive to maintain a home.”
In contrast, they add, states with lower job creation rates, including California, New York, Washington, and Massachusetts, rank among the most expensive for home maintenance.
Analysts advise property owners to anticipate ongoing maintenance-cost variability.
“Our data suggests homeowners should remain vigilant and prepared for fluctuating expenses.”
The full report is available on Thumbtack’s blog.
