A low mortgage rate can make the loan cheaper without making the whole experience of owning a home affordable or satisfying. Owners still pay for taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance and, where applicable, HOA or condo fees; they can also find that the home is the wrong size or location. U.S. survey data show that regret is common, but the available survey results do not isolate homeowners with low mortgage rates or show that a low rate causes regret.
Why do homeowners regret buying?
In Bankrate’s 2025 survey, 45% of U.S. homeowners said they had at least one regret about their current home. That does not mean most wanted to sell: 70% of homeowners said they would buy their current home again, while 17% said they would not and 13% were unsure. A person can dislike one part of a purchase and still feel the home was worth buying overall.
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Among homeowners who reported at least one regret, 42% said maintenance and other hidden costs were more expensive than expected. Other reported reasons included a home that was too small (21%), a mortgage payment that was too high (16%), paying too much (15%), a bad location (14%), a home that was too large (11%), not getting the best mortgage rate (10%) and not thinking the home was a good investment (6%). Respondents could choose more than one reason, so these figures are not mutually exclusive and apply to the regret subgroup—not all homeowners. The survey reports reasons people selected; it does not establish that any single factor caused their regret. Bankrate’s 2025 Home Affordability Report
Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick said, “For most folks, buying a home is the most expensive transaction of their lifetime. After the purchase is complete, we find that affordability issues rank high on the list of regrets.”
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What costs are not included in a mortgage payment?
Principal and interest are only part of the cost of owning a home. Depending on the home and how the payment is defined, owners may also pay property taxes, homeowners insurance, utilities, maintenance, and HOA or condo fees. Some mortgage payments include escrow for taxes and insurance; utilities and many repair costs are separate.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s selected owner-cost measure includes mortgage payments, insurance, taxes, utilities and various fees. For U.S. households with a mortgage, median monthly owner costs were $2,035 in 2024, up from an inflation-adjusted $1,960 in 2023. The median share of income spent on those selected costs by mortgaged households was 21.4%. These are broad population medians, not a budget estimate for a particular home or household. The Census Bureau reported a $135 monthly median HOA or condo fee among households that paid one in 2024; about 21.6 million households paid such fees. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey housing-cost estimates
Other measures use narrower definitions. In the Federal Reserve’s 2024 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, the median monthly mortgage payment reported by homeowners with a mortgage was $1,500. That measure refers to the payment sent to the bank, which typically includes escrow for taxes and homeowners insurance but excludes utilities. It should not be compared directly with the Census Bureau’s broader selected-cost measure as if the two were the same bill. The Federal Reserve also found that some owners lacked homeowners insurance; among those without coverage, 43% said unaffordability was the main reason. Federal Reserve, 2024 SHED report
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsWhy can owners with a low rate still face rising costs?
A fixed mortgage rate can stabilize principal and interest, but it does not freeze the other costs of owning a home. In an analysis of American Housing Survey data, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis found that from 2021 through 2023, inflation-adjusted principal and interest costs for mortgagors declined 0.9%, while other housing costs—including property taxes, insurance and maintenance—increased 5.5%. Average total costs for mortgagors rose 1.6% after inflation over that period.
The same analysis found a larger increase for recent movers: their total inflation-adjusted housing costs rose 14.1% from 2021 to 2023. The authors caution that the data do not specify which kinds of spending drove the maintenance-spending increase. These are observed patterns across groups, not a prediction that every owner’s bills changed by the same amount. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis analysis of housing costs
Housing costs can also strain a household even when the loan itself seemed manageable at purchase. In the Philadelphia Fed’s July 2025 LIFE Survey, nearly 20% of surveyed homeowners said they could not afford critical maintenance. The share was 35% among FHA borrowers in that survey. Payment difficulties occurred at nearly three times the rate for FHA borrowers as for conventional mortgage borrowers. These survey results describe respondents, not every homeowner or borrower. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, July 2025 LIFE Survey brief
Do recent buyers have the same payment experience as long-term owners?
No. The mortgage market and purchase price at the time of a move matter, so owners who bought in different years can have very different payments. Census Bureau analysis of 2024 American Community Survey data found that homeowners who moved in 2024 paid $648 more per month in inflation-adjusted mortgage payments than homeowners who last moved five years earlier—a 41.1% difference. That cohort comparison does not establish the rate or regret experience of every owner, and it is separate from the broader Census measure of total owner costs. U.S. Census Bureau analysis of recent movers
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The available U.S. survey evidence does not show what share of low-rate homeowners regret buying, or whether their rate explains their feelings. It points instead to two distinct questions: whether the home fits the owner’s needs, and whether the full cost of ownership fits the household’s finances.
Quick Recap
- Separate the loan from the ownership budget. Look beyond principal and interest to taxes, insurance, utilities, fees and the cost of maintaining the property.
- Separate cost regret from fit regret. Bankrate respondents cited financial concerns as well as issues such as size and location; a mortgage rate cannot correct a mismatch between the home and the household.
- Read survey percentages with their denominator. Regret reasons in Bankrate’s report are shares of homeowners who reported a regret, and respondents could select multiple reasons.
- Track costs for visibility, not as a guarantee. Keeping service dates and repair expenses together can help an owner see recurring costs and plan, but a record cannot prevent a surprise or make an unaffordable repair affordable.
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