HOA Fees Surge Nearly 30% Since Pandemic, Straining American Homeowners
Homeowners association fees have skyrocketed by almost 30 percent since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating significant financial hurdles for Americans striving to achieve or maintain homeownership, according to a recent report. This sharp increase is exacerbating the affordability crisis in the housing market, with many potential buyers being priced out of their dream homes.
Steep Increases in Monthly Costs
Data from Realtor.com, as cited by The Wall Street Journal, reveals that the median monthly condo fee has surged 29 percent since 2019, reaching $420 in 2025. Similarly, median HOA fees for single-family homeowners have climbed 26 percent over the same period, hitting $63 last year. While these fees are not typically the largest expense for homeowners, they are compounding the financial pressure as property taxes, mortgages, and utility bills also continue to rise.
Joel Berner, a senior economist at Realtor.com, emphasized to the Journal that these cumulative costs are "pricing some people out of homeownership." Although mortgage rates may eventually decline from current highs, HOA and other homeownership expenses are projected to keep increasing, further straining household budgets.
Widespread Impact on Millions of Households
Census Bureau data indicates that approximately 21.6 million households, representing about one-fourth of all homeowners in the United States, paid HOA or condo fees in 2024. Among these, roughly three million households faced fees exceeding $500. These payments, usually made monthly or annually, fund essential services such as building-wide infrastructure for condominiums or neighborhood amenities for HOAs.
The Journal reports that the escalation in fees is largely driven by rising costs in property insurance, labor, and materials. This trend has deterred many prospective buyers from purchasing condos, as illustrated by Rebecca Lotsoff, who has been searching for a two-bedroom condo in the Chicago area since 2022. She told the Journal that she refuses to pay a monthly fee above $500, stating, "It has limited what’s available to me. I’m very frustrated."
Growing Burden for Existing Homeowners
For current homeowners, the fee hikes have become a significant nuisance. Donald DeFesi, a resident of Walnut Creek, California, has seen his condo association payments double since 2015, now amounting to $1,500. He currently spends more on condo association fees, condo insurance, and property taxes than on the principal and interest of his mortgage. "I certainly didn’t expect the homeowners association dues to increase as they have," DeFesi lamented to the Journal.
Efforts to Mitigate Fee Hikes
In response to these financial pressures, some HOAs and condo associations are taking proactive measures to limit fee increases. Cindy Kielty, the board president of her HOA in St. Charles, Missouri, informed the Journal that her association might reduce services, such as lawn watering, to keep costs manageable. Kielty’s fees have jumped from about $125 per month when she and her husband purchased their home in 2009 to $350 per month today.
Kielty noted, "People are just going to have to change their expectations as to what’s going to be covered. They have a choice: Do more yourself or pay more money to the HOA." This shift reflects a broader trend of homeowners and associations adapting to economic realities by prioritizing essential services over optional amenities.
The ongoing rise in HOA and condo fees underscores a critical challenge in the American housing landscape, where affordability is increasingly out of reach for many. As costs continue to climb, homeowners and buyers alike must navigate a complex financial environment, balancing desires for community amenities with the harsh realities of budgetary constraints.
