Rising Homeowner Association Fees Strain Household Budgets

The fees charged by condominium associations and homeowners associations are rising along with other items in household budgets, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday (April 9).

Between 2019 and 2025, the median monthly cost of condo fees rose 29% to $420, while HOA fees rose 26% to $63, the report said, citing data from Realtor.com.

Beyond that, associations can issue special assessments to pay for large repairs and other expenses, according to the report.

One-fourth of owner households in the United States paid HOA or condo fees in 2024, the report said, citing data published in September by the Census Bureau.

These fees are likely to continue going up because the costs of property insurance, labor and materials are rising, per the report.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “The Adjustable-Rate Reckoning: How Homeownership is Pushing Millions Paycheck to Paycheck” found that more than two-thirds of U.S. consumers live paycheck to paycheck, with their income being spent on basic bills and other expenses as soon as they receive it, and that 14% of those consumers cite the financial strain of buying a home as a key reason for their financial condition.

“The upshot is that homeownership is a major factor behind sending consumers into a paycheck-to-paycheck financial lifestyle,” the report said. “It ranks only behind taking time off work, buying a car and starting a business or freelancing as a primary source of income.”

In the analysis cited in WSJ, the Census Bureau said the national median monthly fee for condo and homeowner associations, collectively, was $135 in 2024. It added that a large share of homeowners in some states paid more than $500.

“The amount of condo and HOA fees differed widely between and within states,” the Census Bureau said. “In 2024, about 5.6 million or 26% of homes paid less than $50 a month and about 3 million homes paid more than $500 a month.”

Realtor.com said in a January press release that metro areas in Florida dominate the list of metros with the most expensive HOAs. The company attributed this to climate-related insurance costs and legislative changes that followed the 2021 Surfside condo collapse.