Home-buying costs are 4 times what buyers expect | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

When I bought my first house, I had already been reporting on mortgages and real estate for a couple of years. I knew the statistics about how much it cost to buy a home.

Somehow, I still found myself shell-shocked when the total amount due at closing was printed in bold, black ink in front of me. I felt overwhelmed and even confused.

According to the January 2026 Best Interest Financial True Cost of Home Buying Survey, most homebuyers have a similar experience.

Real estate agent-matching service Clever Real Estate and mortgage broker Best Interest Financial surveyed 947 Americans who bought homes in 2023, 2024, and 2025. They conducted this research from mid-to-late January 2026. The survey revealed just how much buying a home cost Americans on average — and how these costs impacted buyers afterward.

The report revealed that homebuyers spent an average of $31,502 in upfront costs, not including the down payment. This was roughly four times what they expected to pay, which was $8,083 on average.

The number represented closing costs, moving costs, and other miscellaneous expenses.

Costs that surprised homebuyers the most

The surveyed homebuyers had bought homes in the last three years, and the typical cost of buying a house totaled $31,502. Here’s how those expenses broke down:

Moving costs: $3,032
Closing costs (e.g., appraisals and underwriting fees): $5,719
Seller concessions (e.g., paying a portion of the seller’s closing costs): $7,678
Repairs and renovations in the first year: $15,073

Of those polled, 18% said repairs and renovations were the most surprising cost. Sixteen percent chose closing costs, and 14% said property taxes. (Property taxes are both a closing cost and an ongoing homeownership expense.)

It wasn’t so long ago that sellers were entirely responsible for covering both seller and buyer real estate agents’ commissions. However, a 2024 settlement with the National Association of Realtors removed the rule that sellers must cover both parties’ fees.

“Although most sellers continue to pay the buyer’s commission cost as a way to attract home shoppers, some buyers may be responsible for their agent’s compensation,” according to the report.

A Clever Real Estate survey found that the average commission for a buyer’s real estate agent is 2.82%. The average sales price of houses sold in America was $534,000, according to the most recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. If a buyer paid a 2.82% agent commission on $534,000 house, they would owe an additional $15,058 at closing.

Using the national averages, the typical cost of buying a home (not counting the down payment) would jump from $31,502 to $46,560 for homebuyers in this position. And since not all buyers have to pay this fee, I can understand how it would take someone by surprise.

Three-fourths of homebuyers experienced regrets

About 75% of those surveyed reported that “the cost of buying significantly impacted their finances in the first year of owning their home.” Twenty-nine percent claimed they had to cut back on discretionary spending, 23% drained most or all of their savings, 17% accrued more debt, and 16% put less toward other debt payments.

Almost three-fourths of participants (72%) said they have regrets about their home purchase, and 73% claimed that if they could go back in time, they would make different decisions.

More on mortgages and home affordability:

The most notable home-buying regrets were that they didn’t negotiate with the seller more (21%), were unprepared for home-related expenses in the first year (18%), and went over budget (17%).

Looking back, a large chunk of participants said they wished they had been more aggressive in the negotiation process and made lower offers. Many also would have planned for more post-purchase expenses (such as repairs and maintenance) and requested more seller’s concessions.

The homebuyers thought they could have saved $38,082, on average, had they handled the home-buying process differently.

First-time homebuyers impacted more than repeat buyers

The Best Interest Financial True Cost of Home Buying Survey evaluated both first-time and repeat buyers. Both groups spent more than expected, but first-timers faced the brunt of the surprise.

“First-time buyers are often unprepared for this major expense, with 41% saying they did not feel fully informed about the total cost of buying a home before making an offer,” the study said.

First-time homebuyers spent roughly 30% more on these buying expenses than repeat buyers — $36,460 versus $28,260, respectively.
“Without a complete understanding of the cost, many first-timers miscalculated how much they’d need for their home purchase,” according to the study. Sixty-one percent of first-time homebuyers reported going over budget, while 44% of repeat buyers said they overspent.
First-time buyers were almost twice as likely to buy a fixer-upper than those who had bought before, so they spent an average of $1,079 more on repairs in the first year.
On average, repeat homebuyers spent $5,556 on seller concessions, while first-timers spent almost double at $10,928. The study showed that first-time buyers were more eager to buy, and many paid more to meet that goal. Sixty-eight percent of first-time buyers wished they had done more negotiating.
When it came to closing costs, first-timers spent about $1,000 more on average. It seems this was because they were less likely to make a large down payment or negotiate lender fees compared to people who had previously bought a house. Source: Best Interest Financial True Cost of Home Buying Survey, January 2026