What's Hot: The Group Driving Household Growth in DC | A First Look at Crummell School Transformation in Ivy City
$11,342 a Year: The Hidden Costs of Owning a Home in the DC Area

Homes on W Street NW in DC.
Rising prices aside, owning a home can be a demanding financial investment beyond the down payment and mortgage, and a recent analysis from Zillow and Thumbtack seeks to break down the hidden costs associated with homeownership.
The report found that homeowners nationwide can expect $9,080 in annual hidden costs associated with owning and maintaining their home. Of those costs, $6,059 are completely unavoidable ($2,110 in annual property taxes, $2,953 annually for utilities and $996 annually for homeowner’s insurance). The remaining costs are for “optional” maintenance costs, from standard lawn maintenance to gutter cleaning and pressure washing.
story continues below
loading...story continues above
Because the DC region is a relatively costly housing market compared to many others in the country, the unavoidable annual costs of homeownership are higher, totaling $8,764 ($3,727 in annual property taxes, $3,121 annually for utilities and $1,916 annually for homeowner’s insurance). However, the more avoidable maintenance costs are not as expensive, coming in at $2,579 annually. Below is a table showing how those costs break down in the DC area.

Data from Zillow and Thumbtack
Some of the aforementioned maintenance costs are only associated with single-family houses rather than condos or co-ops. Overall, however, being aware of these costs may help put the costs of homeownership in perspective — and explain why many would-be first-time homebuyers are sitting out the market right now.
The maintenance costs used in the report are averages gleaned from thousands of quotes from service providers in the metro area, and the six costs that the report focused on were identified as the most popular. Utility costs come from UtilityScore’s zip code-level data. For homeowner’s insurance, the analysis assumes the owner pays 0.5 percent of their home value in annual insurance and calculates the cost using the median home value for the metro area.
See other articles related to: home buying, home insurance, home maintenance, homeownership, taxes, zillow
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/11342_the_hidden_annual_cost_of_owning_a_home_in_the_dc_area/12863.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever

In this edition of First-Timer Primer, we look at the ins and outs of the 203k loan.... read »

The national housing market has gained a tremendous amount of value in recent years, ... read »

In 2021, Property Group Partners received approval for the next phase of downtown DC'... read »

The nonprofit has filed plans with DC to rework one of its existing affordable housin... read »

Freddie Mac reported 7.31% as the average on a 30-year mortgage on Thursday, up 12 ba... read »
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro