The median home price is on the rise across the U.S., but it isn’t the only thing rising, according to a report from Trulia using data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Homeowners must also consider other costs such as property taxes or homeowner association fees. And the rate of increase for HOA fees leaves rising home prices in the dust. HOA fees increased 32.4% from 2005 to 2015, compared to 15.1% for the median home price.
And those fees are becoming even more important, and could now even effect homeowners’ credit scores. Last May, Sperlonga Data and Analytics, a data aggregation business for non-standard credit data sources, announced their agreement to report to Equifax, a global insights provider, information on HOA payments and account status data.
Trulia’s study found HOA fees are more expensive in older housing units, decreasing about $90 for homes built after 2005. And, of course, larger homes come with larger HOA fees. On average, homeowners pay about $30 more in fees for each additional bedroom in the home.
And they are not to be underestimated. In some metros such as Tampa, Florida; Houston, Texas and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, HOA fees make up over 40% of monthly housing costs.
And in New York households paid an average of $571 per month in HOA fees.
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(Source: Trulia)
Here are the top 10 metropolitan areas with the most change in the amount of HOA fees paid each month:
10. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington – 46.1%
Monthly HOA fees in 2005: $248
Monthly HOA fees in 2015: $363
9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – 47.6%
Monthly HOA fees in 2005: $304
Monthly HOA fees in 2015: $449
8. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Oregon-Washington – 48.8%
Monthly HOA fees in 2005: $205
Monthly HOA fees in 2015: $306
7. Columbus, Ohio – 48.8%
Monthly HOA fees in 2005: $151
Monthly HOA fees in 2015: $225
6. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia – 49.4%
Monthly HOA fees in 2005: $259
Monthly HOA fees in 2015: $387
5. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida – 49.8%
Monthly HOA fees in 2005: $236
Monthly HOA fees in 2015: $353
4. Providence-Warwick, Rhode Island-Massachusetts – 50.5%
Monthly HOA fees in 2005: $195
Monthly HOA fees in 2015: $294
3. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida – 52.8%
Monthly HOA fees in 2005: $272
Monthly HOA fees in 2015: $415
2. Baltimore-Columbia-Townson, Maryland – 68.4%
Monthly HOA fees in 2005: $169
Monthly HOA fees in 2015: $284
1. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia-North Carolina – 75.4%
Monthly HOA fees in 2005: $150
Monthly HOA fees in 2015: $263
