Home Maintenance Prices Reach an All-Time High but Show Signs of Cooling
Jack Erb•Thumbtack's Economist •Last updated Jul 19, 2023
Last updated Jul 19, 2023
Each quarter we release new data from our Home Care Price Index\*, a snapshot leveraging insights from more than one million essential home maintenance projects to estimate the annual cost of maintaining your home in cities across the country.
In Q2, the average annual cost to maintain a single-family home increased 8.5% year-over-year (from $5,984 in Q2’22 to $6,493 in Q2’23). Despite increasing only 1.2% from Q1’23, home maintenance costs reached an all time high since we began tracking the data in 2020. While it’s possible that home maintenance prices could continue to rise at a faster rate compared to the broader economy, we are seeing the price increases slow quarter over quarter, hopefully signaling an eventual cooling off.
The average annual cost to maintain a townhome and condo is also up year over year, increasing at an annualized rate of 5.36% and 5.07% respectively. Townhome and condo maintenance costs increased only slightly from Q1 ’23, with townhome maintenance up 1.8% and condo maintenance up 2.37% from Q1 ’23. The yearly cost to maintain a townhome is now $2,225 ($114 more than the same time last year) and $756 for a condo or apartment (up just $36 from the same time last year).
Our Home Care Price Index takes into account various maintenance projects\** homeowners need to tackle each year — including HVAC maintenance, gutter cleaning, appliance maintenance, and more — to keep homes running smoothly and prevent costly, emergency repairs. In 2023, we’ve seen home maintenance prices remain elevated across the board, with 16 out of the 17 home maintenance categories examined increasing in cost compared to the same time last year. Despite US inflation starting to slow, at 3% in June, housing costs, and related maintenance costs, are still elevated.
When looking at specific home projects, Fireplace and Chimney Cleaning and Repair has seen the biggest price spike over the past year (up 32.8% YoY) followed by Central Air Conditioning Repair and Maintenance (up 25.7% YoY), Roof Repair and Maintenance (up 14.6%), Gutter Cleaning and Maintenance (up 11% YoY), and Tree Trimming and Removal (up 10.4%). In Q2, most of the biggest price jumps were for projects that prepared homes for summer, ensuring HVAC systems are ready for the rising temperatures and gutters are cleaned out from winter and spring debris.
Dimming Spotlight on the Sunshine State
In Q2 ’23, we saw the cost of home care rise from coast to coast, with 29 of the top 40 metropolitan areas seeing an increase compared to the same time last year. However, we have started to see signs of cooling compared to Q1 ’23, with 15 of the top 40 metro areas seeing a decrease in home maintenance costs and an additional 21 cities seeing only a single digit increase from the previous quarter.
On a local level, in Q1 we saw huge price spikes in Florida metros, and while year over year costs remain elevated, quarter over quarter prices are dropping throughout Florida. Tampa-St. Petersburg is down -7.5% from Q1, West Palm Beach is down -3.2% from Q1 and Orlando is also down -5.3% from Q1. The decrease in home maintenance costs are likely due in part to seasonal residents moving back to their summer homes, easing up on pent-up demand for home services. There was also a backlog of home repairs from hurricane activity that may have been largely worked through in the beginning of 2023.
In Q2 we’re seeing the biggest spikes in cities away from the coasts — specifically Milwaukee (up 82.6% YoY), Pittsburgh (up 55.7% YoY), Dallas-Fort Worth (up 33% YoY), Sacramento (up 29.6% YoY) and Chicago (up 27.5% YoY). This could in part be due to the increasing number of people moving away from the coasts to cities that are a bit more affordable, thereby increasing demand for home services.
While we’re seeing prices continue to increase, some cities are a bit more cost-effective than others. Below are the most and least affordable cities for home care in Q2 2023, looking at average cost per city:
Cooling Inflation Provides Relief this Summer
Rate hikes by the Federal Reserve over the past year have proved effective at bringing down the rapid pace of rising prices that consumers experienced in 2022, with year-over-year inflation coming in at only 3% in June. Although the 8.5% year-over-year growth in the Q2 Home Care Price Index is lower than the 9% growth from last quarter, the increases in home maintenance costs remain significantly higher than the 3% growth in overall prices.
It is likely that home maintenance costs will continue to outpace price growth in the broader economy for the near- to medium-term. Continued shortages of skilled-labor professionals relative to demand will drive prices higher for their services. And despite the median list price for a home in the U.S. falling for the first time since 2017, as well as the decision of the Fed to forego an additional rate hike at their June meeting, the Fed has signaled the likelihood of potential rate increases at future meetings, which would lead to continued increases in mortgage rates and the cost of purchasing a home. With current 30-year mortgage rates already hovering above 7%, further rate hikes would provide additional incentive for homeowners to invest in maintaining their current homes rather than purchasing a newer home at a higher rate.
Prioritizing Sustainability for Summer
With people spending more time outside, homeowners are prioritizing outdoor projects like landscaping, gutter cleaning and window cleaning, which has led to increased costs in those categories due to high demand. We’ve also seen overall landscaping requests more than double in Q2 as compared to Q1 as people refresh their outdoor spaces.
People have started thinking more sustainably when it comes to their outdoor spaces. In a recent survey with Rewiring America, 71% of people said sustainability is absolutely a priority for this year’s home projects and 36% plan to install solar panels to take advantage of the increased sun. Particularly in the drought-ridden states of the mountain west and west, people are exploring sustainable landscaping options that reduce water use, with Thumbtack data showing Las Vegas and Phoenix topping the list for the most sustainable landscaping requests over the last two years.
In other areas of the country like Florida, residents are prioritizing low-maintenance landscaping options. Bret Douglas of Ironclad Landscaping based out of Orange City, FL has seen customers requesting small, non-trimming, low maintenance plants that don’t require a ton of care. He’s also seen a desire to reduce the footprint of plant bed space by resodding garden beds, something that’s been a fairly new trend. Particularly in Florida as seasonal residents move north for the summer and people spend less time outside in the hotter temperatures, homeowners don’t want the commitment of weeding, trimming and caring for garden beds. Douglas also notes the significant increase in the cost of plants and has seen plant prices almost double in the last few years. Douglas believes we’ll continue to see low maintenance landscaping remain popular as people find less time intensive and more cost effective ways to spruce up their yards.
While outdoor spaces are top of mind, it’s also important to ensure the rest of your home is running smoothly. Summer is a great time to powerwash your house, upgrade old windows and doors and clean your refrigerator and freezer coils to ensure maximum efficiency. For guidance on what projects to do, when to do them, and who to hire, download the Thumbtack app (available on iOS and Android) and you’ll get a free seasonal home care plan personalized to your exact location and home type.
\*Methodology: The Home Care Price Index incorporates Thumbtack categories that are deemed essential annual tasks for home maintenance — Appliance Maintenance, Carpet Cleaning, Central Air Conditioning Maintenance, Deck Staining and Sealing, Duct and Vent Cleaning, Fireplace and Chimney Cleaning, Full Service Lawn Care, Gutter Cleaning and Maintenance, Heating System Maintenance, House Cleaning, Pressure Washing, Roof Maintenance, Sprinkler and Irrigation System Maintenance, Tile and Grout Cleaning, Tree Trimming and Removal, Water Heater Maintenance, and Window Cleaning.
\*\*Pricing data is based on projects requested on Thumbtack reported directly by the independent service professional or individual consumer. The cost is an unweighted index of home maintenance projects on a quarterly basis using a moving average.
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