u/Worried_Quarter469

For many Americans, the math of homeownership doesn’t add up any more.

A home buyer in 2019 could expect to spend about $20,000 a year on basic homeownership expenses: mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, maintenance and repairs, according to data from Intercontinental Exchange and home-services marketplace Angi.

By 2025, that annual bill had soared above $28,500, outpacing inflation and keeping many would-be buyers out of the market. Homeowners who wish they could sell and move elsewhere are also staying put, turned off by the cost of purchasing today.

The affordability challenges are keeping the housing market in a slump for a fourth straight year.

Sales of previously owned homes have held around 4 million a year since 2023, the lowest level in decades and down from a prepandemic norm of between 5 million and 5.5 million a year, according to the National Association of Realtors.

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