The extra costs of homeownership average $9,000 per year nationally, but Denver homeowners spend a lot less, according to a report released Wednesday by Zillow Inc.
The report surveyed 15 metro areas on unavoidable homeownership costs such as property taxes, insurance and utilities, as well as optional maintenance costs such as yard care, pressure washing and carpet cleaning.
Denver homeowners spend $8,146 on homeownership and maintenance costs annually — the third-lowest ranking among the 15 metro areas, behind Phoenix at $7,550 and Atlanta at $8,043 per year.
Nationally, unavoidable homeownership costs averaged $6,042 per year, and maintenance costs totaled $3,435, according to the report. In Denver, the breakdown was $5,364 in unavoidable costs and $2,782 in maintenance.
San Francisco and Los Angeles pay the highest additional homeownership costs, each at more than $13,000 per year.
Svenja Gudell, senior director of economics at Zillow, said although Denver’s utility fees are similar to the other cities surveyed, property taxes and homeowners insurance rates remain moderate.
“Denver has relatively low rates compared to other cities,” she said. “Some of that is driven because homes in Denver are cheaper than those in Boston, but it’s also driven by county property taxes.”
The median home price in the Denver area in April was about $294,000, according to Zillow, well below the most expensive markets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Boston. Denver’s maintenance costs of $2,782 per year were the lowest of all cities surveyed.
“Denver wasn’t one of our most expensive areas overall and did pretty well in every single category,” said Jon Lieber, chief economist of Thumbtack, a consumer and service professionals matching service. “Denver was especially cheap in power washing and gutter cleaning quotes.”
The report, compiled by Zillow and Thumbtack, retrieved data from median annual property taxes for single-family homes, state-level homeownership insurance, metro level utilities data, cost of living and bids from contractors.
Amy Edelen: 303-954-1440, aedelen@denverpost.com or
