News
Consumer Spending · Home Maintenance · Inflation · Real Estate
Thumbtack's inaugural Home Care Price Index reveals that annual home maintenance costs for single-family homes surged 9.3% to $4,886 in the past year, driven by inflation, labor, and material shortages, impacting homeowners nationwide.
The report, based on over one million projects, indicates an average increase of $450 per household since 2020. Specific projects like sprinkler and irrigation system maintenance (+28.8%), appliance maintenance (+19.7%), and duct and vent cleaning (+19.5%) experienced the largest price spikes.
Townhome maintenance costs rose 8.6% to $1,922, and apartment costs increased 10% to $682. Regional variations are significant, with "Sun Belt" cities and booming real estate markets like Portland (+33.9%) seeing sharp increases, while "cooler markets" such as Baltimore (-1.9%) saw slower growth or declines.
Thumbtack CEO Marco Zappacosta emphasizes proactive home care as a wise investment, and a Thumbtack survey indicates 30% of homeowners plan to spend over $10,000 on home projects in the next 12 months.
Sure, gasoline has cost more in the past. But dealing with a rapid run-up in prices is a lot harder than dealing with a gradual one.
