When you think about homeowners’ associations, you likely think about condo and new-home developments, where residents pay a monthly fee to cover shared spaces, maintenance, and other amenities. Most home buyers probably don’t even consider the possibility unless they’re moving to that type of community. But they may have to change. Because the share of homes for sale that include a monthly HOA fee is rising. In fact, according to a new analysis from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website, it’s climbed 10 percent since 2019 and nearly 44 percent of listings now mention the expense. Joel Berner, the website’s senior economist, says the increase is largely due to recent new home construction. “The HOA-heavy construction boom earlier in the decade is now filtering into the existing-home market, and many of those newer communities were built with shared amenities, private roads, and common spaces that require ongoing maintenance,” Berner said. “At the same time, rising insurance costs, stricter building safety standards, and higher labor and material prices are pushing associations to raise dues, making monthly HOA fees a much more common – and more costly – feature of homeownership than they were even a few years ago.” (source)
