The True Cost of Owning a Home in the East Valley (It's More Than the Mortgage)
The mortgage payment is only part of what it costs to own a home, and the other parts have been climbing fast. Emergency repairs, maintenance, insurance, property taxes, and HOA fees have all risen sharply in recent years. The good news for East Valley buyers and owners: when you plan for the true cost up front, none of it has to catch you off guard. Here is how to budget for the whole picture.
Ask most people what it costs to own a home and they will tell you their mortgage payment. That answer is incomplete, and the gap between the payment and the real cost of ownership has been widening. A recent analysis found that nearly every category of homeownership expense has climbed sharply over the past several years. For East Valley buyers and current owners alike, understanding the full picture is not about fear. It is about being prepared, so the cost of owning your home is something you planned for, not something that blindsides you.
The Costs of Owning Have Climbed Across the Board
The numbers tell a clear story. Looking at how ownership costs changed between 2019 and 2025, the increases are significant in nearly every category that has nothing to do with your principal and interest payment.
Put plainly, the average homeowner spent roughly $9,000 a year on improvements, maintenance, and emergency repairs in 2019. By 2025 that figure had risen to about $12,500 for the same work, according to survey data. These are not the headline costs people shop for, but they are real, recurring, and rising, and they land on every homeowner.
Owning Is More Than the Mortgage: The Full Stack
When you budget only for principal and interest, you are budgeting for a fraction of what ownership actually costs. Here is the fuller stack of what a homeowner is really responsible for, the pieces that turn a mortgage payment into the true monthly cost of living in your home.
None of this is a reason to avoid owning a home. Ownership remains one of the most reliable ways to build long-term wealth, and renting carries its own rising costs with none of the equity. The point is simpler and more empowering: know the full number before you buy, and budget for it as an owner, so your home is a source of stability rather than surprise.
What This Means for East Valley Buyers
If you are buying, this changes how you should think about affordability. The most important question is not the maximum loan you can qualify for. It is the total monthly cost you can carry comfortably, with room for the maintenance and repairs that will inevitably come. A home that fits your mortgage budget but leaves nothing for a failed AC unit in July is not actually affordable.
Rising ownership costs have also reshaped buying power in general. As the costs of owning and borrowing have moved higher than the pandemic-era lows, the same monthly budget buys a more modest home than it did a few years ago. That is not a reason to wait endlessly, since waiting carries its own costs in rising rents and prices. It is a reason to buy with clear eyes and a complete budget.
How to Budget for the True Cost
Here is a practical framework I walk East Valley buyers through, so the full cost of ownership is planned, not feared.
This is exactly where the right lender earns their keep, well beyond the loan itself. Anyone can quote a payment. The advisor worth working with shows you the complete cost of ownership, helps you find the number you can carry comfortably, and makes sure you buy a home that strengthens your finances rather than straining them. That is the difference between a transaction and a plan.
The Bottom Line for the East Valley
Yes, the cost of owning a home has climbed, in nearly every category beyond the mortgage itself. But rising costs do not have to mean rising stress. The homeowners and buyers who thrive are the ones who see the full picture, budget for the true cost, and leave themselves room to absorb the inevitable. Homeownership is still one of the best paths to long-term stability and wealth in the East Valley. The key is going in prepared.
If you are thinking about buying, or want to make sure your current plan accounts for the full cost of ownership, the smartest first step is a conversation that maps your real numbers. Not the maximum you qualify for, but the amount that lets you own with confidence and breathing room. That is how you turn a home from a source of stress into the foundation it should be.
The most commonly overlooked costs are the ones beyond principal and interest: property taxes, homeowners insurance, maintenance and repairs, HOA fees, and utilities. Many of these have risen sharply in recent years, with maintenance, repairs, and insurance among the fastest climbers. Budgeting only for the mortgage payment can leave buyers stretched when these real costs arrive. The fix is to plan for the full monthly cost of ownership from the start, which a good lender will help you calculate.
A widely used guideline is to set aside roughly 1% to 2% of your home's value each year for maintenance and repairs, though older homes or those with aging systems may need more. With repair and maintenance costs having risen significantly in recent years, the average homeowner now spends noticeably more annually than they did a few years ago. Treating this reserve like a regular bill, rather than an afterthought, is what keeps a major repair from becoming a financial emergency.
Not necessarily. Renting has its own rising costs, and it builds no equity, so waiting is not free either. The better question is whether you can comfortably carry the full cost of owning a specific home, including taxes, insurance, maintenance, and HOA, with breathing room left over. If you can, ownership remains one of the most reliable paths to long-term wealth. If the full number is a stretch, it may mean targeting a more modest home, not abandoning the goal. A complete budget tells you which is true for you.
Both can rise over time for reasons separate from your loan. As home valuations increase, many areas reassess properties, which can raise property taxes even though your mortgage stays the same. Insurance premiums have climbed largely because the cost to rebuild and repair homes, driven by labor and materials, has gone up. Because taxes and insurance are often paid through escrow, increases can change your total monthly payment. Budgeting with margin for these shifts keeps them manageable rather than alarming.
Use it to shift the conversation from purchase price to true cost of ownership. Encourage clients to budget the full monthly figure, taxes, insurance, maintenance, HOA, and utilities, and to leave room for rising costs and inevitable repairs. Clients who buy with margin are far more financially stable and satisfied than those who stretch to the maximum. Partnering with a lender who shows clients the complete cost picture, not just a loan payment, protects them from payment shock and reflects well on everyone who advised them.
Qualifying for the max is not the same as buying it. Let's find the complete monthly cost you can carry comfortably, repairs and all, so your East Valley home strengthens your finances.
GET YOUR REAL NUMBERHelp clients avoid payment shock by planning the true cost of ownership. Partner with a lender who shows the complete picture, not just a loan payment, across the East Valley.
PARTNER WITH JOHNCrossCountry Mortgage, LLC. Equal Housing Lender. NMLS #3029. This is not a commitment to lend. All loans subject to credit and property approval. Cost-increase figures (2019 to 2025) are from a Wall Street Journal analysis, with annual spending data from Angi and HOA figures from Vantaca, as reported June 2026; all are national figures and local East Valley costs vary by community and property. Maintenance budgeting guidelines are general rules of thumb, not guarantees. This material is not financial, tax, or legal advice; consult appropriate professionals.
