Most financial analysts agree that renting a home may not be a great investment because your monthly home expenses are paid toward a property you’ll never own. Of course, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a certain level of “lost” money for homeowners, too. One of the most stressful sides of owning rather than renting is managing the maintenance of your house, from the time you have to spend caring for the lawn to the money it will cost when you finally have to replace the roof. Experts say the best way to tackle these unexpected repairs and renovations is with a monthly maintenance budget, the rule of thumb being 1% of the home’s value, but how much should you really put away? To find out, we surveyed over 1,000 homeowners about how often they conducted major home repairs and how much they had to spend. Read on as we break down the most expensive cities for home repairs and the most requested services in 2018.

Big changes

When you’re a first-time homebuyer, it’s a mistake to think your mortgage represents the entire cost of your housing expenses. While you may have been able to call a landlord to help fix leaky pipes or a malfunctioning air conditioner in the past, homeowners are responsible for every repair and renovation. More importantly, repairs on your home are truly never-ending. Even in a newly built construction, things will go wrong or break down eventually, and you’ll have to fix or replace them. According to our study, 88 percent of homeowners did a major home repair in the last year, and more than half managed multiple major repairs or home improvement projects. Thirty-one percent of homeowners managed two major home changes, while 30 percent managed between 3 or more projects. Of those who conducted large-scale repairs or improvements, 60 percent hired a home service professional for the job.

Making money moves

With so many homeowners juggling more than one considerable home improvement project within the last year, it can be difficult to put an exact number on how much money one should budget for these repairs. The average American spent $4,958 on home repairs and improvement projects in the last year. For some homeowners, the annual cost of repairs could be more than double the average. Fifteen percent of those surveyed spent between $5,001 and $10,000 on repairs, while another 8 percent spent between $10,001 and $20,000 on repairs and improvements.

Wasted money?

Some of the money homeowners sink into home improvement and repairs every year may turn out to be dollars back in their pockets. While homeowners spent just under $5,000 on home projects last year, on average, they estimated the cost of those repairs increased the value of their homes by nearly $15,000.

Cities with big renovation budgets

Many factors play into the cost of standard home repairs. In addition to the time of year, the demand for similar services and the availability of necessary materials where you live within the U.S. could have a similar effect. Based on estimations from 25 of the busiest metropolitan areas, one ranked as the most expensive for repair services: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. With its repair rate averaging nearly 12 percent higher than the national average, buying a home in the nation’s capital won’t just cost you a pretty penny in terms of your monthly mortgage—it could set you back more than expected in repairs and renovations. New York-Newark-Jersey City (6 percent higher), Baltimore-Columbia-Towson (5 percent higher), and San Diego-Carlsbad (3 percent higher) also earned the top spots for being the most expensive metropolitan areas for home repairs.

Common household repairs

So which home repair projects are you most likely to encounter? This list shows the most common service requests in 2018 across the entire Porch community. The most common service type requested from Porch professionals? Handyman services, followed by landscaping and homebuilding. While some of these jobs may call for smaller budgets, others (like roofing installation) may warrant a considerable expense.

Big spenders

As you think about your home project budget for 2019, it may help to understand the average cost of some of the most common home repairs. Among the most expensive home improvements, repairing a floor structure averaged over $15,000. Even the most resilient, high-quality floors will need to be replaced eventually, and you may want to start saving now. While both the square footage and materials will play a factor in the total cost, the overall average made repairing floor structures the most expensive renovations according to homeowners surveyed. Installing a fence (over $8,000), installing aluminum decking (over $5,600), and installing air conditioning (over $4,400) also ranked among the most costly home improvement projects.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

Emergency home repairs are no one’s friend, and if you aren’t expecting the bill, paying for some of the most common home renovation projects can put a serious strain on your wallet. The question isn’t if you’ll have to manage a major home repair in 2019, it’s when and what kind. Eighty-eight percent of homeowners dealt with a major repair last year, costing nearly $5,000 on average. When an emergency strikes, you need repair services you can trust to get the job done right. At Porch, our Porch Home Assistant is available 24/7 to connect you with our Porch Services professionals or one of the many certified technicians, handymen and professionals in our extended network. When you need the job done right, and you don’t have time to search the web for a reputable contractor, let Porch help. Visit us at Porch to learn more about the projects and areas we service. Methodology and limitations To compile the data in this study, we surveyed 1,015 people about their home behaviors in 2018 and reviewed Porch cost and job frequency data to understand common jobs in the last year. For all data presented, outliers were excluded to preserve the integrity of the means presented. Because the primary source for much of the data was a survey, it is susceptible to biases and potential issues common to any survey, such as recency bias and telescoping. With these biases understood, we believe the data are accurate and made every effort to retain the integrity and accuracy of the data. Fair use statement Want to help make sure your readers are ready for a home repair? We encourage you to share the results of this study and any related graphics for any noncommercial use. Be a good neighbor and include a link back to this page when you’re done so that our contributors get recognition for their work too.