Cost of owning a home keeps going up

I always laugh when I hear real estate agents say that the costs of owning a home are usually little more than the costs of renting. From personal experience I can tell you that is nonsense.

The cost of owning a house includes far more than your monthly mortgage. There are utility bills, which are always rising. There are maintenance costs, which tend to pop up at the worst possible times. And don’t forget property taxes, which, I can bet, you will never see go down during the years you own your home.

A recent study by HUD showed that from 1985 through 2005, the median monthly housing cost for a U.S. family jumped 128 percent. The median monthly costs jumped from $345 to $798 during this time. The average percentage of income that families spent on housing during the same period did not rise nearly as much, increasing from 19 percent to 22 percent. The relatively flat increase in the percentage figure is a result of rising personal incomes.

Renters have had it easier during this same period. Their housing costs increased just 8 percent from 1985 through 2005.